Asia Foundation History

The Asia Foundation Monograph Series: commemorating contributions to key development challenges in the Asia-Pacific region Ambassador Haydn Williams, who served as president of The Asia Foundation from 1964-1989, commissioned the creation of a series of monographs to commemorate the Foundation’s contributions to key development challenges in the As… Read more

Asia Foundation trustee emeritus Ted Eliot, Jr., who left us this fall at the grand age of 91, demonstrated throughout his life that America’s first line of defense is manned by wise and seasoned diplomats practicing the art of diplomacy. For almost seven decades, Ambassador Eliot led by example, brilliantly tutored Foreign Service officers, and de… Read more

For more than six decades, The Asia Foundation has responded to the ever-changing needs of the Korean people by building relationships and addressing the critical issues facing the country with creativity, expertise and commitment. This publication is a historical record of Korea’s remarkable journey and the Foundation’s initiatives, partnerships,… Read more

The Asia Foundation celebrates 25 years of dedicated work in Timor-Leste. Since 1992, the Foundation has worked alongside partners in the government, civil society, media, academia, and community groups to achieve the ambitious goals of this great country.

The Asia Foundation’s deputy country representative in Pakistan, Ameena Ilahi, recently spoke with veteran development practitioner and economist, Namet Ilahi, who began his career in the early 1970s as Pakistan’s joint secretary in the Planning Commission, and since worked as a lead consultant in over a dozen countries…

In 1945, as World War II entered its terrible final months, world leaders were working on a new institution they hoped would prevent the next conflagration, a world forum built on international law, where nations could settle their differences with words instead of warfare. That June, delegations from 50 nations made their way to San Francisco, by ship, by train, and sometimes by misadventure, to forge the agreement that would create the United Nations.

The Asia Foundation’s director of Regional Cooperation Programs, John J. Brandon, and Chen-Dong Tso, the Foundation’s senior advisor in Taiwan, recently spoke with former Asia Foundation grantee, Professor Yenlin Ku, a leading feminist in Taiwan who established Taiwan’s first women’s studies center.

The Asia Foundation’s deputy country representative in Pakistan, Ameena Ilahi, recently spoke with Pakistani journalist Wajahat Ali, who in 2010 served as an Asia Foundation William P. Fuller Fellow in Conflict Resolution at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C. As an accomplished journalist, looking back, what do you consider the highlight or most remarkable moment in your career?

The Asia Foundation marked its 60th anniversary with a special day-long event and gala on November 6 in Seoul, Korea, hosted by former Foreign Minister Han Sung-Joo…

On November 6, The Asia Foundation marked its 60th anniversary with a special day-long event and gala in Seoul, Korea, hosted by former South Korean Foreign Minister Han Sung-joo; Chairman, JoongAng Media Network and Former Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Hong Seok-hyun; and Kim Jin-Hyun, Former South Korean Minister of Science and Technology. Speake… Read more

The Asia Foundation’s director of Regional Cooperation Programs, John J. Brandon, recently spoke with former Foundation grantee, Tommy Koh, Singapore’s ambassador-at-large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former ambassador to the United States.

Presented at the 60th anniversary gala in SF, a special video congratulations by California Senator Dianne Feinstein, honorary gala co-chair.

Presented at the 60th anniversary gala in San Francisco, a special video congratulations by Honorable George P. Shultz, honorary gala co-chair.

Informed by six decades of experience and deep local expertise, the Asia Foundation’s work across the region addresses the critical issues facing Asia, including: a lack of transparency and accountability in government; exclusion of women from political and economic life; persistent poverty and rising inequality; ethnic and religious conflicts; acc… Read more

Severe floods in the Kashmir region of Northern India and Pakistan over the past few weeks have taken 450 lives so far, and uprooted thousands of residents on both sides of the highly politicized border. Heavy monsoon rains caused the Chenab and Jhelum rivers (tributaries of the Indus River system) to overflow their banks…

Disaster insurance has quickly risen up the global policy agenda in the last few years, where phrases like “loss and damage mechanisms” and “micro-insurance schemes” are catching fire in climate change discussions about how to finance the costs…

Last month, the One Foundation, one of China’s most visible charitable organizations, presented a new strategy to government officials and national researchers that marks a major shift in the approach to disaster mitigation in the country.

A new report from the Asian Development Bank sent a warning signal to Mongolia that, despite its wealth of natural resources and pristine image, the country faces a severe water scarcity and quality crisis – one that could leave its growing capital…

Heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan and India since early September have resulted in some of the worst flooding in decades, requiring immediate relief response, as hundreds of people have already lost their lives and millions more are affected.

In Asia editor Alma Freeman recently interviewed co-founder and Director of Programs and Communications at the Greenovation Hub, a grassroots NGO that focuses on environmental protection and innovation in China.

Images of the major rivers of Asia – including the mighty Mekong that snakes through Southeast Asia and the Ganges and other revered rivers that bisect the subcontinent – might seem at odds with the sobering fact that Asia is the world’s driest…

On Sept. 18, The Asia Foundation marked 60 years with an anniversary dinner at the iconic Ferry Building in San Francisco hosted by Gala Chairs Judith Wilbur and Timothy Kochis, and Honorary Chairs Senator Dianne Feinstein and George Shultz. The Foundation hosted a special Forum with the inaugural Asia Foundation Development Fellows. Read an interv… Read more

September 4 marked opening night for The Asia Foundation’s stunning photography exhibition, Critical Issues Facing Asia: Marking 60 Years at the World Affairs Council in San Francisco. Artists, photographers, journalists, thought leaders, development experts…

As part of the global dialogue, the Foundation has organized a photography exhibition, Critical Issues Facing Asia: Marking 60 Years. The exhibit features 14 international photographers and incredible imagery of the six critical issues the Foundation is actively addressing, including: lack of transparency and accountability in government; persisten… Read more

As The Asia Foundation recently marked its 20th anniversary in Mongolia, Country Representative Meloney Lindberg sat down with Naranjargal Khashkhuu, president and CEO of the Globe International Center…

This year, The Asia Foundation marks its 60th anniversary with a year-long global conversation on critical issues facing the region today. As part of this dialogue, the Foundation has organized a photography exhibition, “Critical Issues Facing Asia: Marking 60 Years,”at the World…

Following the first-round meeting in February 2013 between the Thai Government and the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) rebel group that marked the start of surprise peace talks, insurgents have primarily targeted hard targets such as military and police personnel. However, following the breakdown of talks in July 2013…

In March this year, a major milestone passed in the 40-year effort to end hostilities in the Philippines between the national government and Muslim separatist fronts. The government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed a Comprehensive…

In June 2014, almost five years after the end of the longstanding civil war in Sri Lanka, violent clashes broke out in several small towns in the south, including Aluthgama, Beruwela, and Dharga Town. The tensions were fueled by reports that a Muslim man had allegedly attacked…

On the third day of Eid-ul Fitar last week, two Hindu trader brothers from district Umerkot in Sindh Province were murdered in front of their home. An Ahmadi doctor was murdered in Chiniot in May 2014 while a Hazara Shia community in Quetta was attacked and two brothers were murdered by Lashakr-e-Jhangvi on Eid-ul Fitar in July 2014. The killing of Rashid Rehman…

Asia’s rise has been momentous. Since the early 1960s, Asia has grown richer faster than any other region in the world. In 1990, 56 percent of people in East Asia and 54 percent in South Asia lived on under $1.25 a day (PPP). By 2010, these rates had fallen to 12 percent and 31 percent…

In Asia editor Alma Freeman recently interviewed Dwi Rubiyanti Kholifah, Indonesia country director for the Asian Muslim Action Network (AMAN), which focuses on the role of women in peace building and inter-faith cooperation. Kholifah was selected as one of the 10 inaugural 2014 Asia Foundation Development Fellows.

Subnational conflicts are the most deadly, widespread, and enduring violent conflicts in Asia. Recent studies by The Asia Foundation indicate that more people have died in the region’s 26 subnational conflicts than in international conflicts during the past 20 years. In South and Southeast Asia, active conflicts affect regions that are roughly the size of Indonesia…

In this TED talk, Conor Ashleigh, award-winning photographer and visual storyteller, shares stories of chronicling long-running conflicts, climate change hot spots, and communities undergoing transition in places where inequality and poverty remain among the world’s highest. In September, The Asia Foundation will feature Conor’s work on assignment… Read more

As The Asia Foundation recently marked its 20th anniversary in Mongolia, Country Representative Meloney Lindberg sat down with Oyun Sanjasuren, Minister of Environment and Green Development and former Asia Foundation grantee…

By many metrics, Bangladesh’s development trajectory is a unique success story, especially since the 1990s when democratic rule was reinstated and extensive economic reforms were made. Poverty incidence has fallen from 60 percent to around 30 percent.

International data indicate that Myanmar’s current growth rate is about 7 percent, which by any measure should indicate progress and pride. Macroeconomic reforms have been extensive. The unrealistic legal exchange rate, which at one point was about 150 times…

For the last four years, Mongolia has had one of the fastest growing economies in the world, clocking double-digit growth on the back of a mining boom. The effects of this growth are obvious, especially in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, where cranes dominate the skyline…

In Asia editor Alma Freeman recently interviewed Philippine local governance leader Marcia Czarina Corazon Medina-Guce on President Aquino’s ambitious reform agenda and progress on poverty reduction and inclusive development.

Despite the region’s dramatic growth, income inequality across much of Asia is rising, and poverty remains a stubborn issue to overcome. Some 700 million people across the region live on less than $1 a day. In response, governments are taking on urgent policy reforms needed to create jobs and foster inclusive growth…

Photographer Conor Ashleigh recently worked with The Asia Foundation in Bangladesh, a nation extremely vulnerable to climate change.

Photographer Conor Ashleigh worked with The Asia Foundation in Nepal in 2013, and shared these reflections.

2010 Henry Luce Fellow Ted Alcorn shares his reflections and pictures of his year in Asia.

In this video, documentary photographer Conor Ashleigh narrates his recent experiences on assignment with The Asia Foundation where he traveled to Khulna in the Delta region of Bangladesh – one of the world’s most vulnerable regions to climate change.

The Asia Foundation’s country representative in Korea, Peter Beck, recently spoke with Foundation partner, Minister Lee Hong-koo, former prime minister of the Republic of Korea and ambassador to the United States.

Anna Bantug-Herrera, The Asia Foundation’s associate director in Washington, D.C., recently spoke with former Foundation grantee, Sheila Coronel, veteran investigative journalist, new Dean of Academic Affairs of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism…

As The Asia Foundation recently marked its 20th anniversary in Mongolia, Country Representative Meloney Lindberg sat down with Tsagaan Puntsag, chief of staff of the President of Mongolia and former Asia Foundation grantee in the Government Palace…

On May 19, The Asia Foundation honored Senator Dianne Feinstein of California with the first-ever Chairman’s Award for her commitment to U.S.-Asia Relations at a special Ambassadors Dinner in Washington. View a slideshow from the event, where ambassadors from across the Asia-Pacific region as well as key foreign policy experts and highly accomplish… Read more

The Asia Foundation just released its new 60th anniversary annual report, with a special focus on the Foundation’s efforts to address the critical issues facing Asia in the 21st century. With images from award-winning photographers throughout, the report also features highlights from the Foundation’s new living, interactive timeline that provides a… Read more

To mark its 60th anniversary, The Asia Foundation debuted on May 14 a living, interactive timeline of its six decades in Asia, including compelling archival video, audio interviews, oral histories, photographs, documents, and multimedia.

The Asia Foundation’s director of Regional Cooperation Programs, John J. Brandon, recently spoke with former Foundation grantee, Dr. Han Sung-joo, former ambassador to the United HanSungjooStates and Korean foreign minister.

On January 3, ongoing street protests by garment workers in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, turned violent. Government troops opened fire into a crowd of civilians, killing four and leaving one person missing. A total of 23 civilians were arrested and 21 are still detained without bail.

This week President Obama travels to four Asian countries – Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Malaysia. In many respects, the president’s visit is to make up for his absence last October in Brunei and Indonesia to attend the East Asia Summit (EAS) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders meeting because of the U.S. government shutdown.

Access to justice, security, and human rights protection rank among the core issues that fuel the protracted subnational conflict in southern Thailand and are central to the prospect of its future resolution. For the last decade, the southern border provinces of Yala, Narathiwat, and Pattani have faced a resurgence of an indigenous…

On March 27, the national police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) celebrated their 14th anniversary with full pomp and circumstance. For 24 years until 1999, the police in Timor were under the command of the Indonesia military. Now, it seems that memories of countrywide conflict and instability in this small tropical nation are receding.

In his 4th State of the Nation Address in June 2013, Philippine President Aquino praised a 30-year-old Makati resident Nino Aguirre who has no legs, but had laboriously climbed four floors to reach his polling station and cast his vote in the May 2013 midterm elections. While Mr. Aguirre’s feat demonstrated laudable…

Just back from an intensive, nine-day leadership training workshop in Singapore and the Philippines, which kicked off The Asia Foundation’s Development Fellows program, In Asia editor Alma Freeman interviewed one of the 10 inaugural Fellows from Mongolia, Badruun Gardi…

Weak legal institutions and poorly functioning systems of justice pose challenges to citizens throughout Asia in resolving disputes, enforcing their rights, and accessing benefits to which they are legally entitled. This photo blog examines issues of access to justice and human rights through the lens of three countries

This week, The Asia Foundation is hosting the inaugural class of The Asia Foundation Development Fellows: Emerging Leadership for Asia’s Future program in Singapore and the Philippines…

The Asia Foundation’s director of Regional Cooperation Programs, John J. Brandon, speaks with Thailand’s Ambassador to the U.S. Vijavat Isarabhakdi, who served as a Congressional Fellow sponsored by The Asia Foundation.

This year, The Asia Foundation is commemorating its 60th anniversary. Drawing on the expertise of local partners and our own development experts in the 18 countries where we work, we’re initiating a year-long, global conversation on six critical issues facing Asia.

On March 12 in Washington, D.C., The Asia Foundation will feature all 18 of its country representatives from across Asia, along with other experts, for a day-long discussion on Asia’s critical issues in the 21st century. This event is part of a week of activities in Washington, including in-depth discussions with policy-makers, and serves to mark t… Read more

For a president who was so greatly influenced by his mother and surrounded by sisters, it’s perhaps not that surprising that Simeon Benigno Aquino III has appointed women to some of the highest positions of his administration. A confirmed bachelor…

A report from Oxfam released in late January put down on paper what many already feared was true: almost almost half of the world’s wealth is now owned by just one percent of the population. This is also the case in Asia, where income and wealth disparity is growing rapidly.

Ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, In Asia editor Alma Freeman interviewed Nepali radio journalist and women’s rights advocate, Jaya Luintel, on women’s changing role in politics and society in Nepal, the country’s wide gender gap, and hopes of democratic momentum.

While Asian women are increasingly visible in leadership positions, political participation rates of men and women continue to be vastly unequal. In many countries, women are routinely discouraged from entering public office.

Across Asia, rapid change is presenting extraordinary development challenges. The goal of improving lives, expanding opportunities, and helping societies flourish will require innovative, effective, and coordinated development efforts, public and private sector…

More than half of the planet lives in Asia. Six of the 10 largest nations in the world are in the Asia Pacific, and the region is playing an increasingly important role in the global economy, international security, and the world’s collective efforts to advance human development. The dynamism of Asian economies contributed greatly to the global economic recovery, simultaneously lifting more than half a billion people out of poverty. Glittering cities and bustling ports bear testament to the so-called “Asian miracle” that has become the dominant narrative in economic and political analysis of recent years.

Delhi’s new chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, has publicly declared a war against corruption in India’s government. Within weeks of assuming office, the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), or the Common Man’s Party, set up an anti-corruption helpline…

By the end of President Yudhoyono’s term, for the first time, Indonesians will have witnessed their first 10-year stretch of both democracy and stability. While there is no shortage of criticism of what democracy has yet to achieve, the last 10 years have proven a commitment to what the overwhelming majority of citizens…

The November 2013 Constituent Assembly (CA) elections in Nepal revealed very strong anti-incumbency sentiments among the voting public. So too did the 2008 CA elections, when Nepali voters turned to the newly above-ground Maoists (CPN-M), rejecting the more “seasoned” parties…

On January 15, the results of the latest “SWS Survey of Enterprises on Corruption” were released during an afternoon session of the Good Governance Summit 2014. The previous survey in 2012 showed an impressive record low of 43 percent of business executives who considered corruption to be widespread.

Corruption is deeply entrenched in many Asian countries and continues to erode public trust in democratic processes and in public institutions. Accountable governance institutions are essential to sustainable growth in Asia…