In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

Approximately 35 percent of Cambodians live on less than a dollar a day, experiencing severe poverty. In cities and small towns, young people are vulnerable to false promises of jobs, or of marriage – and are trafficked into exploitative situations.

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In a new video, members of the community and the police from Bangladesh’s Rajshahi discuss how The Asia Foundation’s community-based policing forums are helping build trust and increase communication. The forums, which take place in 518 villages, are one of the few settings where citizens and the police can talk candidly about crime issues that [...]

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In the World Economic Forum’s new Global Competitiveness Report just released last week, the Philippines continued its recent trend of rising in the rankings, moving up 10 spots from last year’s position and 20 from two years ago to 65.

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Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived at Nicolau Lobato Airport in Timor-Leste. The plane sailed in low over pristine reefs with the U.S. flag on the tail of plane and lettered in white then neatly across the powdered blue body – “The United States of America.”

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The industrial zone of Ashulia, just outside of Bangladesh’s sprawling capital, Dhaka, grabbed headlines in mid-June when hundreds of garment workers demanding higher minimum wages shut down over 300 factories. It was the most violent protests the region had experienced since 2010…

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In Bangladesh, the garment industry drives the country’s economic growth, contributing to an impressive 6 percent growth rate for nearly a decade. Bangladesh is now one of the world’s leading clothing exporters, second only to China…

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In late August, Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong approved the first-ever national draft strategy on gender; a broad plan designed to increase the number of women in senior positions in government. The strategy is not yet public…

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From September 9-19, The Asia Foundation hosts development pioneer Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, founder of BRAC, the largest nongovernmental development organization in the world. Based in Bangladesh, and dedicated to alleviating poverty by empowering the poor…

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On September 8-9, the heads of 21 Asia-Pacific economies will gather in Vladivostok, Russia, for the 2012 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting to adopt a final declaration outlining prospects for the development of the region. Among the topics that will be integrated into the discussion is how women can more fully participate in APEC economies to foster innovative growth. Earlier this year, APEC held the second Women and the Economy Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, and released a follow-up statement urging government officials and business leaders to “recognize the crucial role that women play in innovative economic development…

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This International Literacy Day, Sept. 8, 2012, marks the culmination of the United Nations Literacy Decade (UILD), an initiative launched in 2003 to increase literacy levels and develop literate environments worldwide.

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