Water and rain are essential to sustaining lives and livelihood, and fostering social and economic development throughout Southeast Asia. They are, for example, necessary for the production of rice, a tradition that dates back to thousands of years. Rice has remained an important commodity in the region, both as a staple food and an export product. Almost 30 per cent of the world’s rice-growing areas are situated in the region, with Thailand and Viet Nam ranking among the top global rice exporters (International Rice Research Institute, n.d.). This is largely due to the interplay between water resources, land, and the ecosystem.
ASEAN celebrated its 56th anniversary on 8 August 2023 with Indonesia’s 2023 ASEAN Chairmanship theme, “Epicentrum of Growth”.
The 3rd ASEAN Youth Social Journalism Contest (AYSJ), a collaborative effort of the ASEAN Foundation, ASEAN Secretariat, and the ASEAN-USAID PROSPECT project, was successfully held under the theme “Community Resilience.” This competition has been a pivotal platform for nurturing young journalists across Southeast Asia over the past five years. As of 2022, the initiative has trained 58 finalists from all 10 ASEAN Member States, equipping them to tackle diverse societal challenges, from combatting domestic violence to promoting eco-friendly shopping.
At the opening of the 43rd ASEAN Summit on 5 September 2023, President Joko Widodo of Indonesia and the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, handed the prestigious ASEAN Prize trophy to two distinguished recipients: 2022 awardee Haji Muhammad Iqbal Fakhri bin Haji Damit, and this year’s winner, Nguyen Thi Tuyet Minh.
No other country in the Asia- Pacific region has more volcanoes than Indonesia. The country is home to at least 127 active volcanoes; thus, volcanic eruptions are a major threat to the archipelago.
Zain Nabil Haiqal’s love for wildlife and animals stems from childhood. The 25-year-old college student vividly remembers a visit to a West Java zoo where he encountered a forlorn-looking orangutan. The primate’s sorrowful expression moved him to tears and left a mark on his young life. This emotional connection ignited a passion for animal welfare that would shape his life.
It is neither fame nor her three million followers on social media that brings Sania Leonardo the greatest happiness. Instead, it is the warm embrace of her students at emergency schools and their excitement to see her whenever she arrives.
Like any ordinary person, 40-year-old Trang Jena Nguyen initially believed that first aid skills and knowledge were exclusively for doctors and medical professionals. However, it only took one workshop to change her mind.
Nestled along the Philippines’ typhoon-prone corridor, Naga City faces heightened vulnerability to torrential rains, landslides, and heavy flooding. Just this past April, the city felt the impact of Tropical Depression Amang. Though a relatively weak system, it inundated several of the city’s villages.
