On 21 March 2019, Asia Centre and Stenden Thailand co-hosted the fifth International Faculty Club which focused on Southeast Asia in the Age of Disinformation. In Southeast Asia, there are more than 400 million Internet users. Since January 2019, internet penetration is 63% and social media penetration is 61%. These numbers show that people increasingly consume media on digital media and social media platforms, instead of traditional media. As content creation on social media is immediate and not subject to regulations, it can easily be used to spread fake news and disinformation. The IFC gave insight into how disinformation is…

Dr. James Gomez, Chair, Board of Directors, Asia Centre and Cecil Anthony, Chief Mentor, NSHM Knowledge Campus signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 8 March 2019 in Kolkata, India to further cooperation between the two institutions. The signing took place during NSHM Knowledge Campus’s International Conference on Media and Society on 8 and 9 March 2019. During the Inauguration Session of the event, Dr Gomez said that the MOU can help NHSM Knowledge Campus extend its reach to Southeast Asia.At the International Conference, Asia Centre was the official partner for the Technical Session “Media & Human Rights” on 9…

Dr. James Gomez, Chair, Board of Directors, ASIA Centre and Professor Neil Semuel Rupidara, Rector, Satya Wacana Christian University signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 5 March 2019 in Semarang, Indonesia. The MOU outlined the area of collaborations that covered research, joint events, trainings and internship. The partnership was signed following the two entities' first joint general studies panel.Entitled “Religion, Media and Politics in Southeast Asia”, the event was organised in collaboration with the Faculty of Social Science and Communications, Faculty of Theology and the Centre for the Study of Religion, Pluralism and Democracy. Attended by 100 students and…

Dr. James Gomez, Chair, Board of Directors, Asia Centre and Professor Sonali Chakravarti Banerjee, Vice Chancellor, Calcutta University’s signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 8 February 2019 in Kolkata, India.The MOU signing was part of the Government of West Bengal’s push for its universities to collaborate with knowledge partners abroad.  The event was witnessed by Kolkata’s Chief Minister, Mamata Banarjee during the 5th Bengal Global Business Summit that took place on 7-8 February 2019. For ASIA Centre, the MOU signings form part of the Centre’s strategy to engage externally and build more partnerships globally.Asia Centre will be undertaking more…

China’s rise and its increasing assertive efforts to re-shape the world order have far-reaching consequences, in particular in Southeast Asia. In the age of information and disinformation, China’s ambitions as a global power must be appreciated critically, inclusive of the fact that Southeast Asia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are means to an end - removing China’s sense of being ‘encircled’ by its global competitors, namely the United States and its allies. To dissect China’s foreign policy and its impact on the region, Asia Centre held its 4th Benedict Anderson Memorial Roundtable entitled “Chinese Nationalism and Its…

As states seek to address climate change resilience following the Paris Agreement by committing to ‘foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emissions development’, they appear to be willing in so far as such measures do threaten food production” (SDG Indicator 13.2.1). An analysis of the palm oil industry in Indonesia exposes a potential rights conundrum amidst the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Asia Centre’s Dr. Robin Ramcharan dissected this apparent conundrum in relation to the Palm Oil industry in Indonesia in a lecture to the Leuven Center for Global Governance in Belgium on 20 December 2018. The palm oil…

Asia Centre has built two partnerships around impact projects on Fake News and the Rohingya refugee crisis in Southeast Asia during its New Zealand outreach from 21-31 October 2018 to seek out collaboration opportunities. Dr. James Gomez, Chair, Board of Directors, Asia Centre, kicked off the first leg of the trip as an Activist-in-Residence at the Massey University-Center for Culture-Centered Approach (CARE) on October 23rd-26th. One focus during this residency was to collaborate with CARE on “Communication, Democracy and Freedom in Asia” highlighting the “Fake News” challenge to democracy. The issues were delivered in the form of a public lecture…

  3 November 2018 - Dr. Robin Ramcharan analysed the role of youth interaction with religious leaders in constraining religious extremism during a workshop on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), organised by the Rule of Law Program of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and its partners in Singapore, from 29 to 30 October 2018.  He noted analysis worldwide that showed the impact of marginalization and of religious-dissonance on the progression of youth from their regular lives towards extremist thoughts  and sometimes violence. Research has shown that religious leaders can play a vital role in youths’ search for theological consistency in their…