In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

On July 2 in Sendai, Japan, nearly a year and a half after the tragic earthquake and tsunami devastated the region, The Asia Foundation will participate with Google on a conference to examine using open data in disaster relief. As the world is seeing stronger effects of climate change and other factors, floods, rising sea levels, tsunamis, and monsoons threaten the lives of millions, this is a timely moment to call attention to natural disaster management across both developed and developing countries.

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While Thais are accustomed and well adapted to the annual flood season, the 2011 flooding crisis was the worst in five decades and caught the entire nation off guard. The floods actually began in northern Thailand in May…

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Headlines would have us believe that women’s political participation is flourishing in Bangladesh due to their key positions in government: the prime minister and leader of the opposition are both women who, collectively, have ruled back and forth for more than 20 years.

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“Afghanistan transition, 2014.” Ask citizens of countries engaged in Afghanistan since 2001 what this target date means, and the answer is likely to center on bringing home troops and resources. But ask the people of Afghanistan what 2014 means, and the answer is more likely to reflect anxiety…

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Although we may not always agree on the specifics – or the application of the concept given its political sensitivities – there is a degree of consensus on the general traits of state fragility.

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Tracing the complicated web of procurement scandals in the Indonesian media over the past few months, it has been hard to remain upbeat about the country’s fight against corruption. But among the gloomy headlines, The Asia Foundation was glad to find a glimmer of hope in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

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On July 8 in Tokyo, the governments of Japan and Afghanistan host a ministerial to set out sustainable development priorities for Afghanistan through 2014 and the “transformation decade” (2015-2024). The Asia Foundation co-hosts 30 representatives of Afghan civil society at the Afghan Civil Society Voices Conference just prior, on July 6-7. Read more.

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Tens of thousands are gathering in Brazil this week for the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), which is expected to be the largest event in the history of the United Nations. World leaders will discuss the advances that have been made over the past two decades…

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Today is World Refugee Day. This year’s commemoration coincides with ongoing ethnic violence targeting Rohingya Muslims in western Burma (also known as Myanmar). Ethnic clashes in Rakhine State have left at least 50 dead and 30,000 displaced.

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For the first time in my life, I am visiting London. Everybody tells me how unusual is the glorious weather we’re enjoying, and that my infatuation with the city might not be as strong if the weather were more normal – gloomy and wet – but I plan to take these first impressions as fixed.

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