PROGRAM SNAPSHOTS

Bangladesh is an export-oriented country, and the ready-made garment (RMG) sector accounts for 83 percent of it, employing four million people, with 59 percent of those being women. As globalization continues to transform day-day life, a reliance on traditional production methods has caused the country to fall behind in global competitiveness. The… Read more

A distinctive feature of the Covid-19 pandemic has been the rampant spread of mis- and disinformation in traditional media and social media, exacerbating tensions between communities and creating new fault lines. In response to this situation, The Asia Foundation, Sri Lanka has launched #StrongerTogetherSL to counter online disinformation and… Read more

The Asia Foundation, Sri Lanka ran a media campaign, Violence Against Women is Not A Game. These interactive public awareness posts highlight some key information on justice sector responses to cases of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) including domestic violence. The series of four adverts showcase a word search dealing with SGBV covered un… Read more

The Asia Foundation hosts webinars on satellite technology use for key sectors The Internet is a critical driver of economic growth, now even more so with the imperative digital transactions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in the Philippines, the 2019 national ICT survey shows that only 18 percent of households have access to the inte… Read more

The Asia Foundation Thailand Office worked with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Australian Embassy to create a one-stop service portal called www.thailandlearning.org to offer students, teachers, and parents during the pandemic. Given that schools are closed, and learning moved to online spaces, the portal brought together existi… Read more

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