Areas of work
Transformative Education
Transformative education focuses on adult and young adult education and learning that build on theoretical perspectives of cross-cultural issues. Furthermore, it explores the politics of knowledge that are critical to understanding the role of education, the complex power and identity dynamics, and the practices and outcomes of curriculum and teaching in maintaining complex constructs such as social order, gender norms and patriarchal structures.
Conflict Mediation and Peacebuilding
The work draws from our personal and collective engagement with conflict mediation and peacebuilding efforts in various places around the world. Together with people who share direct experiences in war and armed conflict both as actors and survivors, we do research, facilitate collaborative lesson-learned, and soft-diplomacy approaches aiming to bring peaceful and dignified societal transition.
Religion and Social Change
From historical power, cultural practices to geopolitical tension, religious faith can have different meanings and manifestations to communities around the world. Our work centres on exploring the notion and understanding ways where people manifest religion as an empowering driver for social change.
Labour and Rural-Urban Development
The Asian region contributes to the enormous amount of the working class and productive-age populations. This also reflects a dynamic interaction between cities and villages. With uneven development amid the emerging market economy, people move around in between rural and urban areas, struggling for livelihood and forming their own identities. Our approach to labour and rural-urban development issues framed by people’s freedom yet restricted mobility, along with the cultural and structural development affected by local politics, community’s resistance, government regulation on investment and local politics surrounding it.
Gender Transformative Communication
Communication can be pivotal in promoting gender equality, by transforming attitudes and norms that perpetuate gender based discrimination. A gender transformative approach in communication attempts to foster critical examination of gender stereotypes, roles, norms and dynamics, highlight the contribution and position of women and girls relative to dominant patriarchal and masculinised discourse while taking into account the added effects of marginalisation (e.g., the intersections of gender and social class or gender, class and ethnicity), and ultimately transform the society to change behaviour, practices, and norms. These key principles of Gender Transformative Communication are iterative or cyclical across all stages of communication intervention programme
Environmental Justice
As a thriving continent where raw commodities from nature are extracted and global supply chains rely on technological advancement and investment in Asian countries, Asia holds the key to our ecological survival as the recipients of various impacts of climate change. We combine examples from practices on the ground with progressive theoretical insights to co-create alternative ways in challenging socio-ecological injustice and foster a compassionate approach to mother earth.