Social Inclusion
Virtual Event – The Economist’s Technology for Change Week Asia
Singapore, March 8-12, 2021
Events Post
The Covid-19 pandemic alone has plunged over 490 million people back into poverty, magnifying inequalities around the world. How can Asia lead the world in harnessing the power of technology for change? The Asia Foundation is pleased to support The Economist’s inaugural Technology for Change Week Asia, a virtual summit bringing together 700+ leadin… Read more
Virtual Event – Insights from North Korean Refugee Entrepreneurs
Washington, DC, Thursday, February 4, 2021
Events Post
Seventy-five years after the onset of Asia’s Cold War, the world remains focused on the geopolitics of inter-Korean relations. Meanwhile, an emerging community of more than 33,000 refugees from North Korea currently live in South Korea; half aspire to become entrepreneurs. Despite the potential insight the refugee community could offer, there is in… Read more
North Korean Refugee Entrepreneurs in South Korea: Unveiling Korea’s Hidden Potential
December 30, 2020
Publication
More than 33,000 refugees from North Korea today live in South Korea, and half of them aspire to become entrepreneurs. To date, there has been limited data and understanding regarding Korean refugee entrepreneurs and their circumstances. North Korean Refugee Entrepreneurs in South Korea: Unveiling Korea’s Hidden Potential, by The Asia Foundation in… Read more
Advancing Gender Equality & Social Inclusion in India
October 20, 2020
Publication
The Asia Foundation opened a resident office in India in 2008. The Foundation collaborates with communities, government, civil society, and other development partners to implement evidence-based programs to advance gender equality and social inclusion and to expand women’s rights, security, and economic opportunities in India. This includes a focus… Read more
Virtual Event – A New World is Possible: Gender Lens and Social Inclusion Philanthropy in a Time of Covid-19
Australia, Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Events Post
Further Reading on Gender and Social Inclusion Philanthropy Interactive Menti Resources As Covid-19 has swept the globe it has had acute impacts on women and girls, especially for Indigenous women, other black and brown women, and those working in informal sectors. The pandemic has threatened progress made across sectors, including health equity, e… Read more
The Asia Foundation, DFAT, Mastercard, VBSP Expand Digital Finance for Women Microenterprises in Vietnam
Hanoi, April 13, 2020
News Post
Through the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (DFAT) Business Partnerships Platform (BPP), The Asia Foundation is collaborating with DFAT, Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) and Mastercard to expand an initiative to build Vietnam’s first-ever digital finance platform for low-income clients and women-led microenterprises. The… Read more
Virtual Event – Making Transportation Services Work for Women: Mobility, Safety, Employment, and Leadership
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Events Post
9:00 am – 10:00 am ET Despite growing evidence of the unique ways women and men experience transportation services, gender and social inclusion issues have long been overlooked in the transportation sector. Women remain underrepresented in the industry, from decision-makers to transport workers, despite women comprising a large portion of public tr… Read more
The Asia Foundation Presents Public-Private Dialogue on Financial Inclusion for Rural Women SMEs in Bangladesh
November 27, 2019
News Post
This week, the Women’s Economic Empowerment through Strengthening Market Systems program, funded by the Embassy of Sweden and implemented by iDE Bangladesh and The Asia Foundation, organized a successful public-private dialogue in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Examining the challenges rural women entrepreneurs face in accessing loans, the discussion brought t… Read more
Wheelchairs in the Mosque
October 23, 2019
Blog Post
Friday, October 10, 2019. Mingling with the roar of airplanes, Azan, the call to prayer, pours forth from the Jami’ Al Akbar Mosque at the Yogyakarta International Airport complex. Amidst the congregation of Friday worshippers, Bahrul Fuad sits quietly in his wheelchair. Until recently, a scene like this was almost impossible to imagine: Bahrul’s w… Read more
Promoting Gender Equality and Social Inclusion: Nepal’s Commitments and Obligations
October 10, 2018
Publication
Nepal has an age-long patriarchal social, economic, political and cultural setup that is deeply entrenched and widespread in which women and Dalits are the hardest-hit. The recent wave of political change in the country has brought significant progress in addressing these issues, supported by positive national and international commitments and affi… Read more
India “Comes Out,” Scrapping Law Criminalizing Homosexuality
September 26, 2018
Blog Post
Early this month, in a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of India overturned a 157-year-old law criminalizing homosexuality. The notorious section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, a relic of British colonial rule that outlawed “carnal intercourse against the order of nature,” was declared unconstitutional by a unanimous five-judge panel. As the cou… Read more
Advancing Gender Equality in Asia
September 12, 2018
Blog Post
Earlier this year, the G7 launched the Gender Equality Advisory Council to promote the integration of gender equality and gender-based analysis across all G7 activities and outcomes. As part of Canada’s presidency of the G7 during 2018, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “Gender equality must play a key role in creating lasting solutions to the ch… Read more
Nepal’s Locally Elected Women Representatives: Exploratory Study of Needs and Capacity Assessment
July 19, 2018
Publication
The successful completion of local, provincial, and federal elections in 2017 was a historic milestone for Nepal, coming after almost two decades. A record number of women representatives were elected to office in these elections, and this has presented both opportunities and challenges. This increased number of women, especially from marginalized… Read more
No Women, No Growth
July 18, 2018
Blog Post
The 2018 Chatham House International Policy Forum convened last week at a time of international angst. Two British cabinet ministers had resigned over Brexit negotiations, creating more uncertainty around the tenure of Prime Minister May. President Trump’s contentious meeting with NATO officials sparked questions about the U.S. commitment to that i… Read more
New Campaign Launches to Increase Employment for Persons with Disabilities in the Philippines
Manila, May 4, 2018
News Post
On May 1, 2018, The Asia Foundation’s Fully Abled Nation (FAN) program, a partnership between the Australian Embassy and The Asia Foundation in the Philippines, launched a new campaign called “May 1% Ka Ba” (Do you have 1%?), a play on the May 1 Labor Day date, that aims to promote inclusive employment and raise the overall percentage of employees… Read more
The Asia Foundation Launches New Initiative to Support Online Platforms and Inclusive Growth
March 19, 2018
News Post
What can be done to help entrepreneurs with great ideas for positive social change to make their dream a reality? How can small and medium sized enterprises grow and access new trade opportunities? How can technology be used to improve lives across the Asia-Pacific region? The Asia Foundation believes that by investing in new technologies, and crea… Read more
A Grassroots Level Toolkit for Promoting Psychosocially Sensitive Group Dialogue Among Older Populations
February 23, 2018
Publication
This toolkit is a set of guidelines that can be used to engage people in storytelling in a psychosocially sensitive manner. It was designed by The Asia Foundation for its Promoting Shared Values, Shared Spaces and Building Local Capacities for Dispute Resolution program, the goal of which is to empower and engage marginalized populations, young peo… Read more
The Cry for Inclusive Economic Growth in Bangladesh
November 16, 2016
Blog Post
2016 will be remembered as a tumultuous year for Bangladesh, rocked by major security incidents involving deadly terrorist attacks that negatively affected the country’s image, both at home and abroad. Despite this, Bangladesh still proved its resilience to such shocking events and continued on with its economic growth trajectory, recording an impr… Read more
Understanding Social Exclusion in Indonesia
October 3, 2016
Publication
This study analyses the reports that resulted from 68 Theory of Change workshops held with NGO and CSO partners as part of the Peduli program. This program addresses the social exclusion of six disadvantaged groups in Indonesia: vulnerable children and youth, remote indigenous communities reliant on natural resources, discriminated religious minori… Read more
Can Asian Cities Lead the Way to a More Sustainable Future?
September 21, 2016
Blog Post
Asia’s urban population is growing at an unprecedented rate. It took 130 years for London to grow from 1 million to 8 million, but Bangkok did it in 45 years, Dhaka in 37 years, and Seoul in only 25 years. Asia’s rapid urbanization—driven by entrepreneurial and commercial dynamism—has been pivotal for its stellar growth, but often to the detriment… Read more
SafetiPin: A Tool to Build Safer Cities for Women
May 11, 2016
Blog Post
The gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a New Delhi bus in 2012 sparked national outrage in India. Since then, other brutal acts of violence have taken place in India’s cities, including the rape and murder of a 30-year-old law student on April 28 in Kerala. There were 337,922 reported crimes against women in 2014, among them over 36,000 were rape…. Read more
Indonesia’s Village Law: A Step Toward Inclusive Governance
February 17, 2016
Blog Post
In late December, Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo spoke to over 700 village heads in Boyolali, Central Java, about the implementation of the year-old Village Law – a major campaign platform for both he and his rival during the 2014 presidential election.
To Ensure Stability in South Asia, Protection of Religious Minorities a Must
February 3, 2016
Blog Post
At the South Asian Forum for Minorities (SAFM) last week, prominent parliamentarians, government functionaries, civil society activists, and journalists put forward a first-ever call to action to the leaders of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation…
Local Pathways to Disability-Inclusive Governance in Indonesia
December 16, 2015
Blog Post
“Nothing About Us Without Us” has become a familiar slogan used by the international disability movement and relies on the principle of full participation for all. However, in Indonesia, where people with disabilities (PWDs) still face enormous barriers…
Signs of Hope for Pakistan’s Religious Minorities
December 9, 2015
Blog Post
The last few years have seen some of the most brutal attacks against Pakistan’s religious minority communities, estimated to make up approximately 3-5 percent of the total population of over 190 million.
Social Media Ignites Disability Movement in Indonesia
December 9, 2015
Blog Post
In Indonesia, stigma around people with disabilities often comes from those closest to them. In many cases, families hide away their disabled family members, communities shun them, and government services and policies…
Leading Disability Advocate Examines Draft Disability Law in Indonesia
December 2, 2015
Blog Post
Like many countries, Indonesia is accelerating efforts to implement its commitment as a 2011 signatory to the International Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD), particularly as the newly minted 2030 Sustainable Development Goals…
Boosting Economic Mobility in Asia: SMEs as Drivers of Inclusive Growth
August 12, 2015
Blog Post
Over the last four decades, Asia has experienced unprecedented economic growth that has shifted the global economic center of gravity to the region. Asia enters 2015 as the world’s fastest-growing region, with the International Monetary Fund predicting that GDP will increase by 5.5 percent this year.
Financial Inclusion for Asia’s Unbanked
May 13, 2015
Blog Post
Asia’s developing economies will continue their steady growth, with GDPs expected to rise by an average of 6.3 percent in each of the next two years, according to the annual flagship report, Asian Development Outlook 2015, from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Inclusive Growth in Asia is Impossible Without Including Women
March 5, 2014
Blog Post
A report from Oxfam released in late January put down on paper what many already feared was true: almost almost half of the world’s wealth is now owned by just one percent of the population. This is also the case in Asia, where income and wealth disparity is growing rapidly.