In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

The Asia Foundation honors the memory of Dr. Adrian Leftwich, highly regarded political scientist, activist, and international development expert, who passed away early this month. Adrian was the research director of the Developmental Leadership Program (DLP)…

> More

In recent years, Asian countries have emerged as game changers in the development assistance arena, challenging traditional notions of aid, reshaping global aid architecture, and placing new challenges on the global development agenda.

> More

On April 23, The Asia Foundation’s Washington, D.C., office in cooperation with USAID and UNDP, will bring together senior government officials and policy specialists from China, India, Indonesia, and South Korea for a high-level panel discussion on Asian approaches to development cooperation, post-2015 challenges, and the importance of emerging donors to future policy making. Space [...]

> More

The Asia Foundation recently hosted U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh, Dan W. Mozena, for an informal lunch discussion at its San Francisco headquarters, followed by a public event organized by the Foundation’s Washington, D.C., office.

> More

Gender-based violence (GBV) affects nearly half of women in Nepal, according to a recent survey by The Asia Foundation. The results of the survey, included in a recent field report from Asia Foundation program officer and Give2Asia’s field advisor to Nepal, Diana Fernandez, showed that 48 percent of women…

> More

More than 75 percent of Asia-Pacific countries lack water security, according to a new report released last week by the Asian Development Bank. Compared to other regions, South Asia is a hot spot where inequity of access to water is the highest. The region supports more than 21 percent of the world’s population, but has access to just over 8 percent of global water resources. As rapid population growth and urbanization increase demand, water is increasingly a scarce and precious resource in South Asia. Even as the complex environmental consequences of climate change, deteriorating river ecology, and growing urbanization continue to unfold new challenges for the region, South Asia’s water woes could be significantly mitigated through improved water governance…

> More

Today, March 20, marks the 180th anniversary of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, making the U.S. bilateral relationship with Thailand the longest uninterrupted diplomatic relationship between the U.S. and any Asian nation. The Thai-American Chamber of Commerce’s theme for 2013 commemorating 180 years of relations…

> More

As the world population approaches 9 billion by 2050 and demand for food rises, tackling food security and sustainability is one of the most critical challenges. In Asia editor Alma Freeman spoke with former Asia Foundation president and member of Congress, Douglas Bereuter…

> More

The inauguration ceremony of South Korea’s new president, Park Geun-hye, was held on February 25 with mixed feelings among Koreans about her election. She is the daughter of the controversial former president, Park Chung Hee…

> More

In Vietnam, a remarkable 95 percent of young people between the ages of 15 and 24 have access to the internet, with social networking growing so rapidly that Vietnam is Facebook’s fastest growing market in the world, with an estimated 8.5 million users, according to a We Are Social report. No doubt, rapid economic growth in the past two decades has contributed to tremendous social transformation in Vietnam, while global integration and the communications revolution have connected young Vietnamese to outside information and views like never before. Despite these trends, a brand new survey reveals that traditional gender roles remain deeply embedded in Vietnamese society and institutions, permeating work, home, and the public arena.

> More