Attacks targeted at female journalists remain a threat to freedom of expression in the region, hence more should be done to mitigate and eliminate this threat.  This was the key idea that emerged from speakers of the panel session: “STOP: Crimes against Female Journalists” convened by Asia Centre and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom East and Southeast Asia on 2nd November 2022. The hybrid event attracted over 15 onsite and 10 online participants and was convened in partnership with Engage Media and Taiwan Foundation for Democracy to commemorate the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists. Recording of…

1.Background  In order to mitigate the negative impact of disinformation in the ASEAN member states, the ASEAN Foundation, with the support of Google, is rolling out the “ASEAN Digital Literacy Programme” to build resilience against misinformation and disinformation for communities in the region. To this end, Asia Centre, a research institute in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (UN ECOSOC), was appointed by the ASEAN Foundation to implement the training program for Youth, Teachers, Parents, Elderly, Government Officials, People with Disability and Community Leaders. 2. Project Objectives Asia Centre will work with local…

Asia Centre, with support of Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (Thailand) and Taiwan Foundation for Democracy held a consultation session with the Office of National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRCT) (Southern Region) to explore collaboration on human rights issues in the southern region during a visit to Songkhla province between 25 - 26 October 2022. The consultation was held on 26 October 2022 at the NHRCT regional office in Songkhla. The NHRCT began with welcome remarks and background to the office’s establishment in March 2022. Its main mandates cover administration,  the protection as well as the promotion and monitoring of human rights situations.…

In 2022, Asia Centre and Google collaborated on a range of projects to combat disinformation. These included co-convening a panel titled “Rights-Friendly Content Regulation in APAC” for the Centre’s 7th International Conference on Freedom of Expression in Asia, a baseline study titled Youth and Disinformation in Malaysia: Strengthening Electoral Integrity and its launch in Kuala Lumpur, a presentation on its key findings at the 2022 APAC Trusted Media Summit on 20-21 September in Singapore and the implementation of media information literacy training in Malaysia and Thailand. Below are the key highlights:On 25 August 2022, in partnership with Asia Centre, Google…

On 8 September 2022, Asia Centre and Faculty of Social Sciences & Leisure Management, Taylor's University signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This MoU was signed just prior to the launch of the Asia Centre and Google report titled “Youth and Disinformation in Malaysia: Strengthening Electoral Integrity” hosted by the School of Media and Communications at Lecture 21 on the Lakeside Campus of  Taylor’s University. You can read the report launch article here. The MoU ceremony and signing was conducted onsite at Taylor’s University and attended by faculty representatives.  Dr Neethiahnanthan A/L M Ari Ragavan, Executive Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences…

Asia Centre’s Dr. Robin Ramcharan carried forward the Centre’s ongoing global exploration for collaborations and partnerships, this time in Canada, during the months of July and August 2022. This follows similar outreach undertaken over the past five years in Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, France, India, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United States and New Zealand. In the course of his outreach, as Canada considers the development of a foreign policy strategy for the Indo-Pacific area, he spoke at the Royal Military College of Canada on regional governance matters in Asia, at the invitation of Associate Professor Ali Dizboni.Intimately involved in the discussion on…

Asia Centre has expanded and strengthened its partnership into Northern Thailand following a visit from 4 to 5 August 2022 to Chiang Mai. During the visit, Asia Centre’s regional director Dr. James Gomez and Program Coordinator Nalinrat Tingoum visited Chiang Mai to co-convened several activities and discussed future activities deepening the Centre’s network with Northern partners.   During the trip, they were able to introduce the Centre’s activities and discussed concrete collaborations with a number of people and organisations including the Faculty of Mass Communication, Chiang Mai University, University Academic Service Center of Chiang Mai University (UNISERV) and the Religion, Culture,…

On 26 August 2022, Asia Centre and Faculty of Political Science and Public Administration, Chiang Mai University signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This MoU builds on the ongoing collaboration of both organisations and launched the formal partnership with Asia Centre’s 8th International Conference on Democracy and Elections in Asia, to be held in Bangkok, 23-25 August, 2023.  Some of the activities leading up to the MoU included Asia Centre’s Dr. James Gomez’s participation in the panel discussion titled “ASEAN in the Changing Regional Dynamics”, held on 4 August 2022 at the Faculty of Political Sciences and Public Administration, Chiang Mai…

Disinformation is a major issue in Southeast Asia and Thailand is not an exception. However, media literacy education can be a good tool to tackle the negative effects of disinformation. This was the key takeaway from the panel discussion, “Media Information Literacy in Southeast Asia and Thailand'' held on 5 August 2022 at Chiang Mai Rajabhat University.   The event was organised by Asia Centre in collaboration with Friedrich Naumann Foundation (Thailand Office), and in partnership with Chiang Mai Rajabhat University, Payap University, Maejo University and the Office of National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC). The panel, moderated by Assistant Professor…

Held on 8 September 2022, the launch of Asia Centre’s report Youth and Disinformation in Malaysia: Strengthening Electoral Integrity drew a crowd of over a hundred participants. It included academics, journalists, students and representatives from civil society organisations, the election commission, government agencies, political parties and youth groups. Media interest in the report was also strong. On the eve of the launch, The Vibes published an opinion piece ‘Political competition to intensify disinformation in GE15’ by Asia Centre’s regional director Dr. James Gomez. On the morning of the launch, Malay Mail published a curtain raiser article ‘Govt agencies, political parties…