Amidst recent pushback to protect internet freedoms, it remains to be seen if Timor-Leste will retain its high rankings in “freedoms” in the long-term, as the country seeks membership in ASEAN, a grouping whose freedom rankings exhibit a sharp decline. While the country ranks highly in terms of academic and press freedom, with internet freedom likely to be on a similar upward trajectory, access to the internet and emerging laws present a challenge. These were the broad assertions made during an online town hall titled “Timor-Leste: Internet Freedoms Under Threat” held on 4 June 2021 by Asia Centre to share…

Media in the region are facing challenges both in terms of state censorship and financial sustainability. However, in almost all circumstances, innovation and improvisation were key to overcome these hurdles.“Celebrating Journalism: Reporting Without Fear” was held on 4 May 2021 to mark World Press Freedom Day. The event was organised in partnership with Asia Centre and Friedrich Naumann Foundation, with speakers from Internews, EFDEA and Taiwan Foundation for Democracy networks. The event was hosted online and live-streamed over social media (watch here). Frederic Spohr, Head of FNF Thailand and Myanmar, Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, in his opening remarks stated that…

Academic freedoms in Asia have deteriorated as autocracy strengthens across the region. However, in building resilience and fostering change, academic, press and internet freedoms need to be considered together as they form a cluster of rights that collectively make up freedom of expression.  This was the thrust of the interventions by speakers from Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Indonesia on 21 April 2021 when Asia Centre hosted the webinar, “Under Attack: Academic Freedoms in Asia”.  The event, which attracted over 150 participants and live-streamed over social media (watch here), was co-hosted with Lund University’s Centre for East and South-East Asian…

Inequality sharpened during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among vulnerable communities in Asia. This was the principal theme in the stories of the 10 finalists which they shared during the 2020-21 Journalism for an Equitable Asia Award. You can watch the event here.  Top 10 journalists from Asia, whose articles made it to the final round, wrote how the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic affected workers in the informal sector. Already struggling under normal times, factory workers, home-based workers, sex workers, street vendors, transport workers—many of whom are women—suffered job losses and income deprivation leading to hardships.  Already leading precarious…

Asia Centre’s webinar, “Law and Lawlessness: Myanmar Coup and Human Rights” on 11 March 2021 discussed the 1 February 2021 Myanmar military coup. The event attracted over 88 participants and gathered over 1,000 views during its live-streaming  (watch here). The one and a half hours discussion centred on strategies of “getting to the other side” -  that is, end the protracted violence. Thereafter, assuming the military gives in and is cooperative, initiate an inclusive political process to draft a new constitution. This whole process of “getting to the other side” might take 10 to 15 years, if not longer. Asia…

Asia Centre and Oxfam in Asia are pleased to announce the finalists for the 2020-21 Journalism For an Equitable Asia Award. As thought leaders and creators, journalists have the skills and voice to expose social issues of the challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia such as inequality, poverty and dysfunctional governance. Journalism for an Equitable Asia Award, co-hosted by  Asia Centre and Oxfam in Asia aims to recognize them and encourage more journalists to write for a fairer Asia.   Here are the finalists: Umar Bacha is a young journalist from Shangla, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. Currently associated with Dawn…

On 5 March 2021, Asia Centre’s Drs. James Gomez and Robin Ramcharan participated in “The Official Launch of the Regional Center for Human Rights Study and Coordination” at the Faculty of Political Science, Ubon Ratchathani University. During the event, Drs. Gomez and Ramcharan, who are also the editors, presented Asia Centre’s publication “National Human Rights Institutions in Southeast Asia: Selected Case Studies“ to the Center's founding Director, Dr. Titipol Phakdeewanich.At the sidelines of the event, Drs. Gomez and Ramcharan met with Mrs. Prakairattana Thontiravong, Commissioner Act on behalf of the Chairperson and expressed interest of partnership with the Commission and its…

With internet shutdowns, throttling of internet server speeds, geo-blocking of social media posts, persecution of social media users, attacks against journalists and media organisations and outright censorship, freedom of expression in the region is in need of defending.This was the response of the reactors and participants to the contents of the report "Defending Freedom of Expression: Fake News Laws in East and Southeast Asia" released by Asia Centre and the Council of Asia Liberal and Democrats with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation on 25 February 2021.About 100 people registered for the report launch. 65 attended the online event…

Rich countries have placed orders, received consignments and have begun inoculating their citizens, however, the reality of needing to inoculate foreign residents in their midst makes vaccination nationalism irrelevant. This was the general view emerging from Asia Centre’s webinar on 20 January 2021 entitled “COVID-19 and Vaccine Nationalism”. Asia Centre, in partnership with the Thai Media Fund and Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, convened its 5th Benedict Anderson Memorial Roundtable in remembrance of the late professor’s work on nationalism.The event was attended by 64 online participants with 798 Facebook Live views during the session. The session brought together academics, activists and…