News

CNN Philippines cites The Asia Foundation’s Improving Internet Access in the Philippines in an article assessing how the COVID-19 crisis and internet accessibility is disproportionally affecting the productivity of underserved communities. Since then, government and non-government organizations have cooperated to push for policy reforms to nar… Read more

The international development community is adapting to the new challenges and opportunities presented by a growing digital ecosystem and digital data. As part of the Global Digital Development Forum virtual conference on May 6, The Asia Foundation hosted the “Not a Drop to Drink: Towards a Political Economy of Data in Asia” workshop. The Global Dig… Read more

A  groundbreaking household survey released by The Asia Foundation—the Model Disability Survey of Afghanistan (MDSA)—provides a comprehensive national portrait of Afghans living with disabilities. The first national survey of the Afghan population on disabilities conducted in 15 years, the MDSA’s findings reflect several health and development succ… Read more

A Thomson Reuters Foundation feature article, “Digital lifeline for women running Asia’s small businesses,” examines digital access for marginalized groups across Southeast Asia, facing financial pressures long before Covid-19. Go Digital ASEAN is a new digital literacy initiative supported by Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, to train up to… Read more

The National Broadcasting Services of Thailand, a television station owned and operated by the Thai government, interviews Country Representative Thomas Parks and Senior Program Officer Rattana Lao on ThailandLearning.org, a new online learning portal for 13 million Thai students and educators affected by Covid-19.  

On May 20, 2020, The Asia Foundation hosted the webinar The Hidden Pandemic: Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Asia during Covid-19, focused on the rapid increase in domestic violence as extended lockdowns and fear, anxiety, and economic uncertainty exacerbate gender inequalities and disrupt services for survivors. The Asia Foundation’s Senior Di… Read more

The Asia Foundation, in collaboration with the Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Embassy in Thailand, has launched Thailandlearning.org, a new online learning portal for 13 million Thai students and educators impacted by the Covid-19 crisis. With school closure through July 1, 2020, the pandemic is disrupting lear… Read more

The Asia Foundation is pleased to announce a new partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and Tuvalu. 2,384 books were donated to educational and government institutions in Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and Tuvalu as part of its Books for Asia program. The books arrived in Fiji in March and the U.S. Embassy in Suva will di… Read more

South China Morning Post quotes Books For Asia Program Specialist Morgan Belveal in a feature of the Kolong Community Reading Park in Jakarta, Indonesia. “Our first audience is not schools. It’s not classrooms,” said Morgan Belveal, a programme specialist with The Asia Foundation, which is working with several groups in Jakarta, and in East and Wes… Read more

As the Covid-19 crisis continues, The Asia Foundation is focusing program efforts to combat the public health implications and the economic and social issues exacerbated by the global pandemic. The multiple challenges created by the far-reaching crisis have disproportionately impacted the region’s most vulnerable groups including women, youth, migr… Read more