PROGRAM SNAPSHOTS

The Resiliency Initiative portal empowers local communities in the Asia-Pacific with digital tools to combat hate, violence, and conflict within and beyond their networks. Launched in April 2021, the resource portal provides free access to tools, resources, and community networks to navigate online spaces. Technology has made it easy to amplify inf… Read more

Earth Day is a good time to read these recommendations to U.S. President Biden from a taskforce on Southeast Asia policy, one of which is: “The U.S. must focus its attention on climate change as the defining geostrategic threat in the Indo-Pacific and work closely with Southeast Asian nations to help mitigate the damage. Southeast Asia is one of th… Read more

During emergencies such as conflicts or natural disasters, the risk of violence, exploitation, and abuse is heightened, particularly for women and girls, and especially those confined to their homes when movement is restricted. Since July 2020, The Asia Foundation’s Cambodia office has been supporting the Ministry of Women’s Affairs to raise commun… Read more

The Asia Foundation, Sri Lanka has partnered with several community-based organizations in Jaffna, Matara, Vavuniya, Nugegoda, Trincomalee, Ampara, Moneragala, and Nuwara-Eliya to support sensitive Sri Lanka Police responses to gender-based and domestic violence during the Covid-19 pandemic. With the support of the British High Commission, the Foun… Read more

Following the end of the nearly 30-year long civil war, Sri Lanka had just begun to address the psychosocial impact from the trauma of war until the Easter Sunday attacks of April 2019 and the Covid-19 breakout in March 2020. These events only compounded the nation’s psychosocial concerns. Ten years ago, The Asia Foundation launched the pioneering… Read more

In the Philippines, helping improve people’s lives sometimes requires changes to policies. There are areas that directly and tangibly impact people’s lives and which they want to have a say in—like waste management, consumer protection, biotech research or disaster risk management—but that can be daunting for most citizens and many local leaders wh… Read more

The largely track one dialogue (held as a hybrid event with three live locations linked to one another online and to virtual participants in two other countries) brought together approximately 170 individuals from ACMECS member countries, as well as from other regional partners, multilateral agencies, and the private sector. The policy dialogue foc… Read more

On International Day of Education, The Asia Foundation in Bangladesh and United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Dhaka Office jointly announced the establishment of their partnership to develop and strengthen reading contents and reading activities on Cultural Heritage of Bangladesh. The partnership aims to utilize l… Read more

As part of an EU-funded initiative, The Asia Foundation is implementing a project to address the immediate threat and longer-term implications of Covid-19 for the most vulnerable populations of Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The goal is to provide greater awareness of health risks and preventive measures, better access to sup… Read more

Asia’s rise is having a profound impact on the policies and practices of development and South-South cooperation (SSC). Anthea Mulakala’s chapter on “The Asian Century”: The Transformational Potential of Asian-Led Development Cooperation, is featured in The Palgrave Handbook of Development Cooperation for Achieving the 2030 Agenda. This chapter des… Read more