Asia

"One Cube" Three, yet one! - is a documentary film by Pramod Dev. Depicting three women who work in export-oriented sectors of India's economy, the film shows how the demands of trade impact upon the personal, familial, social, economic and cultural aspects of the lives of the protagonists.

Recent infrastructure projects and developments have become a threat to National Parks all over the world. Large companies and businesses want to invest in precious land, therefore, the National Parks become the apple of the eye. In Pakistan the malpractices around development projects, personal interests and corruption are having a toll on the National Parks. The violation of National Parks’ law is a common practice thus increasing wildlife vulnerability, pollution, and deforestation. To understand the gravity of the problem and discuss possible solutions, hbs initiated visits to National Parks in Pakistan that are threatened and are going through a struggle of existence.

The Welcoming Communities Transatlantic Exchange is a unique opportunity for leaders in Germany and the U.S. to share promising approaches to welcoming and integrating immigrants and refugees into their communities.

India likes to consider itself the “world’s largest democracy”. In practice, however, there are many restrictions on the freedom of expression. The space available to civil society organizations for action is increasingly restricted.

It is not always the lack of attention from policy-makers but their capacities and knowledge on environment-related issues that put the environment on the back-burner. In Pakistan, unfortunately, there is less sensitivity about the environment and ecological considerations in policy-making circles. Therefore hbs initiated a Green Parliamentarians’ Caucus in collaboration with a premier think tank of Islamabad, the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).

President Duterte is the most controversial figure in the Philippines today, and arguably in the ASEAN region. He is now President of the Philippines, which chairs ASEAN in 2017. What is in store for the Philippines and for the chairmanship of ASEAN? 

A three day (29th, 30th August and 1st September 2016) initiative called “Reclaim Ecology in the Heart of Islamabad” was launched by Heinrich Boell Stiftung in partnership with Pakistan Youth Climate Network. It was part of hbs’ larger campaign on climate change and environment conservation called “there is no planet b.”

In Pakistan NGOs face harsh restrictions and human rights activists risk imprisonment and harrasment. It is important that the government recognizes the role of civil society and promotes a culture of cooperation and trust.

Civil society organisations can be a vanguard of progress for the LGBTI community. Despite the growing number of laws and policies impeding LGBTI advocacy, activists and organisations successfully challenge these trends.

India has the largest number of homeless and landless persons in the world, as well as the greatest number of urban and rural poor.  Shivani Chaudhry, the Executive Director of Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN), argues that the New Urban Agenda must pay more attention to the human right to adequate housing. Interview with Shivani Chaudhry.