Southeast Asia

2020 is an outstanding year in every respect. Despite current events turning the world upside-down, it is also the anniversary of a number of historic events that changed the world and people’s lives: 30 years of German reunification, 45 years of diplomatic relations between the Federal Republic of Germany (former West Germany) and Vietnam

As institutions claimed themselves as concerning with gender equality, we would assume that gender and women’s issues are in the center of its development efforts as shown on the website of ADB, World Bank and AIIB: many women’s and children faces.

In a global race to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic with a stronger and more resilient economy by putting the environment first, Indonesia is set to be left behind as lawmakers recently passed a deregulation law proposed by the government.

At their core, the shared crises of the pandemic, the climate emergency and the plastics habit reflect how human beings view their space in the natural world.

Juliãon is one of a handful of survivors who have been able to find their way to return to Timor-Leste. Without assistance, it is difficult for survivors to gather enough resources and courage to try to relocate their lives.

Despite Southeast Asia’s diversity and the tensions that persist among countries, sport has been able to transcend some geopolitical boundaries and connect communities that have similar histories – and cultivate an appetite and appreciation for their native sport as well as identity.

The Southeast Asian (SEA) Games has been negatively politicised since the 1950s. It has sported a complex interplay of colonialism, decolonisation, nationalism, geopolitics, patronage and capitalism. Repurposing it for the well-being of individual athletes and the regional sporting culture is long overdue. Yet, to depoliticise sports toward positive purpose necessitates collective political action.

Green recovery. Social protection. Smart containment. Decarbonisation. Putting progress in climate action at par with measuring GDP. Creative capacity. These phrases have been running through conversations these days around changing Southeast Asia's template for development in the post-COVID era.

In normal days, low- to medium-skilled foreign workers in Southeast Asia often experience various forms of discrimination, let alone in times of COVID-19 pandemic. Such a situation has shown that Southeast Asian countries are not ready yet for cross-border people’s mobility.

Over the last three years, Timor’s public discourse in Timor-Leste has been concentrated on the power struggle among the Dili-centered elites on the legitimacy to govern the country. The economic impacts of this political development is the economic stagnation, reflected in the GDP decline. COVID-19 adds another layers to the multitude of challenges that already existed.