Ulaanbaatar, May 7, 2024 — The Asia Foundation, in partnership with the Lorinet Foundation and with additional support from Zulzagan Dul LLC and Barloworld Mongolia LLC, proudly hosted the inaugural Storyteller Fox Mongolian Children’s Book Awards on April 24. As a part of our Let’s Read Mongolia initiative, the landmark event celebrated the burgeoning talent within Mongolia’s children’s book sector. It aims to cultivate a passion for reading, foster a rich reading culture among young children, inspire positive change, and enrich children’s literature for future generations. Many esteemed auth ..read more

On April 4, the Foundation co-hosted a dialogue with the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a partner of the Foundation’s South Asia Governance Program, on Bangladesh’s external debt servicing scenario. In December 2023, the country’s external debt crossed the $100 billion mark, surging 51% in just three years. The dialogue’s speakers focused on concerns related to Bangladesh’s future debt service capacity, the sustainability of its debt borrowings, and the precautionary steps it can take to prevent falling into a debt trap. Several key individuals were in attendance, including Mashiur Rahman ..read more

The Indonesian village of Malitu is famous for its vast forests of palm trees and palm sugar production. Yet, obtaining a license for the granulated palm sugar product has been no easy task for the Malitu people, who often waited years for approval while a large industrial timber plantation controlled the land. When the plantation’s permit eventually expired, our local partner, Sokola Mombine, aided the village administration in promptly seeking the social forestry permit. After applying for the permit in 2018 and 2022, Malitu was granted a 433-hectare social forestry management permit for a v ..read more

May 8: 9:30 AM India, 12:00 PM Singapore, 1:00 PM Japan/Korea; May 11: 10:00 AM Japan/Korea, 9 AM Singapore, 6:30 AM India The Foundation’s STEMConnectHER initiative, a program a part of the Future Skills Alliance, is hosting two virtual events this May about career opportunities and building careers in global companies, cybersecurity, AI, and cloud.  On May 8, discover exciting new opportunities for women in emerging technologies, including cybersecurity, AI, and cloud, from Shehara Viswanathan, a technology executive and leader with over 20 years of experience in the Global Cloud, Telec ..read more

In an increasingly digital world, it is essential for MSMEs to take steps towards enhancing their digital capabilities. On May 8, Go Digital ASEAN’s speaker series Explore Digital is hosting a free virtual event titled “Empowering MSMEs in their Journey to Digitalization.” Join us to explore the top tools and platforms businesses use to digitalize and expand their operations. Notable technology expert speakers will also discuss ways MSMEs can advance their digital capabilities.  Featuring Arlene Martinez, Founder, MyKartero Nofi Bayu, CEO, Komerce Ambika Sangaran, COO, Mereka The post Exp ..read more

New York, April 25, 2024 — The Asia Foundation today hosted the 2024 Lotus Leadership Awards Gala at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City. The Leadership Awards are an initiative of the Lotus Circle, a group of generous supporters of The Asia Foundation’s women’s empowerment program, through which outstanding individuals and organizations are recognized for their contributions to women’s and girls’ empowerment and gender equality in Asia and the Pacific. This twelfth Awards Gala honors the Bangsamoro Women’s Movement for their courageous contributions to enduring peace in the Philippines, to ..read more

How our Women’s Economic Empowerment Project in Mongolia deployed Feminist Participatory Action Research. The post Building Feminist Advocacy in Mongolia appeared first on The Asia Foundation ..read more

In Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, conflict and instability endure in contested border regions where local tensions connect with regional and global dynamics. The Asia Foundation, the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, the Rift Valley Institute, and their local research partners established the X-Border Local Research Network in 2018 to develop a better global understanding of political, economic, and social dynamics in conflict-affected borderlands. The FCDO-funded program produces research to inform more effective policymaking and programming interventions in these areas. Periph ..read more

Ulaanbaatar, April 17, 2024 — The Asia Foundation awarded scholarships to ten outstanding scholars admitted to Mongolia’s first Gender Studies Master’s Degree Program. The cohort and graduate program mark a critical milestone in fostering inclusive dialogue and advancing gender equity across the country. The selected students represent a collective committed to promoting social justice and equality and come from a diverse number of sectors, including the private sector, media, civil society, and government. Launched in 2023 by the National University of Mongolia (NUM), the gender studies progr ..read more

In Nepal, our Let’s Read initiative is continuing to cultivate a love of books and reading through interactive and community-focused literature festivals. The initiative draws on The Asia Foundation’s deep expertise and networks in communities across Asia and the Pacific to cultivate the skills of local authors and illustrators while building Asia’s only free digital library for children. On February 18, Let’s Read in Nepal participated in the 11th edition of the Nepal Literature Festival. The Let’s Read team encouraged parents, teachers, and grown-up siblings to install the app, read aloud to ..read more