Articles Category: Culture

ASEAN-Japan 50th Year of Friendship and Cooperation Pre-Event: A Taste of the Golden Jubilee

ASEAN-Japan 50th Year

To welcome the golden anniversary of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation, the newly appointed Ambassador of Japan to ASEAN, Kiya Masahiko, hit the ground running by bringing eight soba masters from Miyagi prefecture to ASEAN. The artisans were in Jakarta on 22 December 2022, to treat the ASEAN Secretariat with delicious soba, a traditional Japanese buckwheat ASEAN-Japan 50th Year of Friendship and Cooperation Pre-Event: A Taste of the Golden Jubilee

Fighting Disinformation and Misinformation: Digital Literacy for the Young and Marginalised

The new age of digitalisation has redefined and significantly widened access to information for many citizens in the ASEAN region. However, the threat of misinformation and disinformation is also an increasing concern in the digital landscape. In response, Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, supported the ASEAN Foundation with a grant of 1.5 million US dollars to Fighting Disinformation and Misinformation: Digital Literacy for the Young and Marginalised

Swimming against the Mainstream: Thailand’s Bollywood niche market

It did not take long for Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022) to catch the attention of Thai movie-goers. Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the movie was released in Thailand on Netflix’s streaming service on 26 April 2022. Soon after, Thai social media was flooded with Gangubai’s reenactment, while the movie stayed in the platform’s local top chart Swimming against the Mainstream: Thailand’s Bollywood niche market

A Dive into Bollywood Fever in Southeast Asia

“Bollywood” was once a pejorative term for mainstream Hindi cinema, according to film scholar M. K. Raghavendra. It has since evolved to become a brand and one of the most visible “Indian” presences in the global arena, including in Southeast Asia.