Asia

Instead of top-down reforms for the media, the countries in Southeast Asia need policies that prioritize the public’s interests.

Social media in ASEAN has quickly evolved from being a passive tool for knowledge consumption and entertainment to an active mechanism for change.

For decades, Myanmar was among the most isolated countries in the world. Although the process of democratization and the internet have changed things, people still cannot express themselves freely.

While the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act aims to counter rampant online harassment and terrorist content, it drew criticism for severely impacting citizens’ rights to expression and privacy.

Social media has played a critical role in influencing change in Afghanistan. The potential anonymity of the internet offers great opportunities for women.

The Indian national identity system, Aadhaar, was set up to empower disadvantaged groups and enable digital innovation. However, it has sparked protests.

Over the last years, Asia has undergone an impressive digital transformation. Large parts of the continent have turned from the world’s factory into a creative industry. Digitalization has become a driving force of social and economic change. This certainly means more opportunities for innovation and growth for many countries. However, on the flipside, if new technologies are in the wrong hands they can also be used as a mean to abuse power.

Women in Pakistan face sexual harassment in public spaces and in the digital sphere. We talked with Nighat Dad, founder of the Digital Rights Foundation, about women’s experiences and how virtual abuse can be countered.

Although ASEAN’s new consensus document on migration is a giant step towards safeguarding the rights of migrant workers, it still sticks to putting skilled professionals and lower-skilled migrants in separate silos.

Prof. Alexander Betts on his new study on Syrian refugees in Europe and the political consequences that their exclusion from the labour market might have.

This manifesto shares the thoughts, expectations, concerns and recommendations of Afghan women in relation to women’s political participation, their role in security sector as well as their engagement in peace process in Afghanistan.

Hungary has reached a point where people fleeing from war and persecution can be detained, beaten and deprived of their rights, while those who endeavour to help them are cast as national security risks.

A small group discussion concerning Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) was held at the office of the Heinrich Boell Stiftung (hbs) Pakistan in 2017. Experts from the field of environment and former government officials who had been part of the EIA process were brought together. Some environment journalists were also in attendance.

The “Pakistan Climate Change Portal” is an online repository of Pakistan-specific knowledge on the subject of climate change. It has been developed by the Civil Society Coalition for Climate Change (CSCCC), a registered consortium of civil society organizations working for climate action in Pakistan, and made possible with financial assistance from Heinrich Boll Stiftung and European Union.  

Representatives of political parties and civil society all echoed in same voice for the increased representation and participation of women in decision-making forums in the political and social arena by ensuring level-playing field to them. They shared these views at the launching of the Gender Action Manifesto, policy paper, organised by the Heinrich Boell Stiftung in collaboration with the Women's Parliamentarian Caucus on 13th October, 2017 in Islamabad.

This essayistic anachronism imagines Böll's novella The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum (1974) as if it were unfolding in contemporary times in an era of populism and rising conservatism, in which female sexuality is still richly milked as a sensational cover for abuse of patriarchal power.

Heinrich Böll Stiftung (HBS) Pakistan through its project “Journalists on Resource Equity and Climate Change” organized a workshop followed by a capacity building field visit for environmental journalists based in Lahore, to highlight the environmental degradation caused by cement factories in Kahoon Valley, District Chakwal. The three cement factories in Chakwal have already led to fast depletion of natural ponds and groundwater resources. Still two more factories are pushing their way into the beautiful valley thus threatening the remnants of environmental, social, economic and biological life of the local communities. The news reports prepared by the journalists after the field visit have brought about tremendous attention of the provincial government and the judiciary to this issue.

The Civil Society Coalition for Climate Change (CSCCC) was formed to strengthen civil society's active participation in decision making processes on climate change in Pakistan. As a proponent of collective action towards climate change Heinrich Boell Stiftung Pakistan thought it worthwhile to support CSCCC.

It is not always the lack of attention from policy makers but their capacities and knowledge on environment related issues that put environment on the back-burner. In Pakistan unfortunately there is less sensitivity about environment and ecological considerations in policy making circles.

The World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) and Heinrich Bӧll Stiftung Pakistan (hbs) have been working together for the growth of Renewable Energy (RE) in Pakistan since 2013. In 2017 both partners are joining hands once more for holding RE Dialogues across Pakistan. Some of the main reasons of slower RE growth in Pakistan are lack of coordination between federal and provincial governments with regards to RE development, and lack of awareness among different federal and provincial agencies about their mandate relating to RE deployment especially, after 18th amendment to the Constitution. The RE dialogues assess institutional landscapes of RE at federal as well as provincial levels through engaging multi-stakeholders from government, civil society and the private sector.