The East-West Center Association Blog

Shaxi, a restored historic town in Yunnan Province, China, faces key tourism development decisions. Photo by APLP Fellow Taku Jindo.

Asia Pacific Leadership Program Fellows Alisha Bhagat and Gretchen Alther report from the field:

Last autumn, a group of 14 Asia Pacific Leadership Progam fellows from the East-WestCenter  traveled to China for a fall field study program. China provided the perfect environment to engage in dynamic processes of change and apply classroom learning to the real world. The fellows explored the rapid economic development of China, political change, and the prominence of China in the Asia-Pacific.

During the field study, a team of three students travelled to Shaxi, a historic town in rural Yunnan Province that had recently been restored as a tourism site. Shaxi is an ideal place to see the drivers of change in China occurring in a small space. Continue Reading »

EWC Education Project Specialist Christina Monroe writes:

Just as quickly as you can end the previously hours-long debate on ‘what countries border Moldova’ with a Google search on your smartphone, human rights activists can now eliminate doubts that abuses are happening.

It’s a new open source transparency. But instead of sharing software for free, scientists and NGO workers are sharing tools to document events. These events used to happen in secrecy, but now they’re in the public domain for all to see. These tools, in the hands of willing citizens, can force public accountability and ultimately more transparency from powerful players in every society.

I recently took part in a briefing for East-West Center’s Asia Pacific Leadership Program fellows with the Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, DC. I’m fascinated by how they use GIS and remote sensing to support human rights organizations.

An analysis of high-resolution satellite images of Aleppo, Syria, appears to reveal the deployment of heavy armored vehicles in civilian neighborhoods as well 117 instances of damage to buildings and infrastructure. Source: American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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EWC international fellows take home lessons from the storm

Christina Monroe, EWC Education Project Specialist & Asia Pacific Leadership Program alumna

(APLP fellows in NYC during Hurricane Sandy witness resilience of the American people.)

It seemed the worst place to be on Oct 29^th, but for fellows trying to understand America, New York City was the perfect spot.
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Muhammad Aftab Qureshi Staff Reporter, Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad. (Photo credit: GlobalJournalist.org)

During their visit to Washington, D.C. the Pakistani journalists had an opportunity to explore U.S. policy toward Pakistan and learn more about the U.S. system of government and democracy. Later on, they visited New York City, where they participated in discussions about media coverage of Pakistan and the residual effects of 9/11 on U.S. relations with the Muslim world.

Finally, participants saw a very different part of the United States in Columbia, Missouri. The prestigious Missouri School of Journalism is based in Columbia, and  hosted a day of discussion sessions on the role of media in democracy and also on cutting-edge media technologies researched at the Reynolds Journalism Institute. The Missouri program also featured home visits with American families and a chance to interact with American citizens from diverse backgrounds.

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The East-West Center successfully launched its new Pakistan-United States Journalists Exchange, which took place April 6-22, 2011.

Participants in the East-West Center's inaugural Pakistan-U.S. Journalists Exchange.

This program is designed to increase and deepen public understanding of the two countries and their important relationship, one that is crucial to regional stability and the global war on terrorism. While there have been many areas of agreement and cooperation, deep mistrust remains between Americans and Pakistanis, who rarely get opportunities to engage with each other and thus rely on media for their information and viewpoints. Unresolved issues continue to pose challenges for both countries.

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Patrick Kaiku

In cooperation with the East-West Center’s Pacific Islands Report (PIR), Hawaii Public Radio (HPR) produces daily news and special reports on Pacific Islands issues. PIR’s Assistant Editor, Edelene Osedil Uriarte from Palau, puts together the audio for the HPR.

On March 30, 2011 Edelene released a special piece on Patrick Kaiku, a New Papua Guinean who is currently on an Asian Development Bank (ADB) – Government of Japan Scholarship through the East-West Center.

Listen to this audio piece at  Pacific Islands Report.

Links:

• Read about the Asian Development Bank (ADB) – Government of Japan Scholarship
• Find out details about the US-South Pacific Scholarship Program
• Learn more about the Pacific Islands Development Program
• Visit the Pacific Islands Report website

In cooperation with the East-West Center’s Pacific Islands Report (PIR), Hawaii Public Radio (HPR) produces daily news and special reports on Pacific Islands issues. PIR’s Assistant Editor, Edelene Osedil Uriarte from Palau, puts together the audio for the HPR.

Listen online to the archive of the Pacific Islands Report.

Links:

• Learn more about the Pacific Islands Development Program
• Visit the Pacific Islands Report website

Dr. V. Bruce J. Tolentino (Photo Credit: The Asia Foundation website)

The Asia Foundation has announced the appointment of Dr. V. Bruce J. Tolentino (EAPI 82 and member of the EWCA Northern California Chapter) as The Asia Foundation’s (next) Country Representative, Afghanistan, effective around June 15, 2011. Currently, Dr. Tolentino is the Foundation’s San Francisco-based Director, Economic Reform and Development (the Foundation’s Chief Economist), and has superb credentials and decades of senior level program, management, representational, and fund-raising/donor experience.

Bruce is a former cabinet-level official of the Government of the Philippines and a seasoned international development specialist, having worked for numerous international policy research and donor agencies, including, but not limited to, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and multiple agencies within the United Nations system. Having led and directed large scale and diverse programs and teams in challenging (in some cases extraordinarily challenging) environments in Somalia, Cambodia, Southern Philippines, Aceh and Myanmar, Bruce will bring a wealth of relevant field leadership and management experience to the tasks at hand in Afghanistan.

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EWC Research Program Director, Dr. Nancy D. Lewis delivered a special lecture on Globalization and health in South Asia, organized by the Sustainable Developing Policy Institute in Islamabad, Pakistan on January 12, 2011. Dr Abid Q. Suleri, Executive Director of the Sustainable Development Policy Insitute (SDPI), conducted the proceedings and underlined the need for efficient track II diplomacy among nations to effectively deal with the growing economic and social challenges across globe.

Dr. Lewis shared her experiences of South Asia with the audience and talked on various aspects of concern including Asia’s population issues, environmental challenges, globalization and Asia’s health. Citing some key figures of global and Asian health situation, she underlined that a safer future was both a collective aspiration and a mutual responsibility.

Continue Reading »

The East-West Media Line has been updated with new posts for this January 2011.

Among the posts you can find:

• New Journalist Exchange Focuses on China’s Growing Clout
• Navigating the Potholes in Road to Energy Security
• 2011 Jeff Fellowships to Focus on Security Challenges in NE Asia/Apply Now
• Line on EWC Media Alumni

Read these posts and many more at:

http://forum.eastwestcenter.org/medialine/