Social development - Open Development Mekong

How journalism helps turn information into outcomes

The forest in northern Gabon didn’t look like a battleground. It was a patchwork of hunting trails and village paths, home to fruit trees and ancestral graves. When a logging concession encroached and the community of Massaha protested, their pleas traveled poorly through official channels. Then the story was reported, documented and read by people in a position […]

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Climate Disinformation Can Impact Indigenous People’s Work – Report

Asia Centre’s first of seven report reveals that climate disinformation puts indigenous people at risk of proper decision-making and action to protect themselves, urging the media to ensure circulation of accurate information Failure to address climate disinformation could hinder indigenous people’s agency from taking meaningful action against climate change and deforestation, a report found, suggesting […]

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Final Hurdle cleared for Thailand’s first law to protect ethnic groups’ way of life

Thailand’s House of Representatives clears the final hurdle for the first law protecting ethnic groups’ cultural rights and way of life. The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved changes made by the Senate to a bill, clearing the final hurdle for the enactment of Thailand’s first law to guarantee the rights and protect the way […]

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Gender No Barrier: Women Excel in Demanding Gold Mining Roles

MONDULKIRI – Two trailblazing female graduates from the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC) are breaking barriers in the gold mining industry. They’re tackling key roles as a surveyor and a metallurgist at Renaissance Minerals (Cambodia) Ltd in Mondulkiri province, overcoming challenges related to gender and demanding work schedules. Renaissance Minerals, a subsidiary of Australia’s […]

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From the Riverbanks of the Salween and Mekong to the Halls of Justice: Women Challenging Mainstream Assumptions and Asserting Collective Rights

Despite experiencing systematic social, economic and cultural marginalization, women like Noon, Dao Prasuk and Pornpimol remain determined to assert their communities’ rights to existence and to protect rivershed commons for generations to come, contesting the widespread public assumptions that large-scale hydropower and water diversion infrastructure are required to propel the region’s development forward, write Pai Deetes, […]

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UN cultural agency calls for Laos, Cambodia to invite monitoring teams to contentious UNESCO sites

The United Nations’ cultural agency recommended Thursday that Laos invite a monitoring mission to the historic city of Luang Prabang, a World Heritage Site where a nearby dam project on the Mekong River has raised concerns it could lose the coveted status. While the World Heritage Committee welcomed Laos’ efforts to improve data collection on the possible effect of […]

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Cambodia reduces school hours amid soaring heatwave

According to a directive released on Tuesday, Cambodia ordered all public schools to reduce two hours off their regular school days due to soaring temperatures in the ongoing dry season. The directive said the normal morning school session from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. will now conclude an hour earlier, while the afternoon session, usually […]

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Ousted Myanmar leader Suu Kyi moved from prison to house arrest

BANGKOK — Myanmar’s jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest as a health measure due to a heat wave, the military government said. On Wednesday it also granted amnesty for over 3,000 prisoners to mark this week’s traditional New Year holiday. Suu Kyi, 78, and Win Myint, […]

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Women are almost invisible in Cambodia’s news stories, UNESCO Report found

Phnom Penh 12 December 2023. Women are vastly underrepresented in news stories produced by Cambodian media, with an exclusively women presence found only in 5% of all stories. In comparison, the stories that feature only men, make half of all the news published and broadcasted in Cambodian media. This is one the key findings of UNESCO’s […]

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Far-Reaching Threats a Worry for Cambodian-American Journalist

WASHINGTON — Paranoia has become something of a way of life for Sarada Taing, ever since the journalist received violent threats from a pro-government social media personality in Cambodia in June. In one audio message sent via Facebook Messenger on June 19, Pheng Vannak, a former police officer, said he “wants to chop my head if […]

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