Digital rights are still not protected in many countries across Asia-Pacific region. Pretty Good Podcast: Discussions on Digital Rights, by EngageMedia, is a series of podcasts highlighting the voices of local people who face issues related to digital rights. Two interesting episodes that may be of interest to researchers in Southeast Asia are episode 7: protecting the stories of marginalized people in the digital space, which talks about challenges and how marginalized communities could be protected if voicing out their opinions online. Another episode, the digital and democratic challenges in telling Myanmar’s story, underlines the stories of a filmmaker of his experience documenting the protests amidst a severe military’s human and digital rights violations. 

Podcasts have become important learning materials in today’s world. Therefore, it would be great to have a free and open-source software to record them. The Video4Change Network has compiled a useful list of software programs and online platforms for podcast production such as Jitsi and Open Broadcaster Software. 

COVID-19 has forced people globally to rely more on digital devices. Coconet provides a list of good digital hygiene that will keep you safe from digital threats. Not just only for yourself, but you can also find some alternative tools to work with others remotely to also keep them safe. This is important as so much research shifts online, but research participants may be so comfortable using digital devices that they might not consider their own safety online.

If you are looking for academic opportunities such as scholarship programs or fully funded conferences, ARMACAD is a platform for students, scholars, scientists, or even parents to search about an up-to-date information on announcements in various study fields. You can also filter it by country, discipline, etc.   

Mia Siscawati, Ph.D., with the support from Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (AMAN), Forest Peoples Programme, and Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic, has published a discussion paper illustrating how the lives of marginalized indigenous communities have been affected by ineffective protection of the rights under COVID-19 situation in Indonesia. By ignoring the on-going land grabs and intrusion, the state imposes a serious threat towards this group of people.  

Asian Indigenous Women’s Network and Indigenous People’s International Center for Policy Research and Education published the book to present five case studies from Southeast Asian countries, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, to display potential of indigenous women in economic and political sphere. With knowledge of their rights, this leads to sustainable development, effective management and protection of their community, and promotion of cultural identity.   

ROCOFTC Thailand held an online public seminar (available in Thai) which presents information and findings of prominent professors and researchers’ work to create topics of discussion regarding community forest management. The research uses policies and laws to demonstrate different perspectives through four case studies. A book of abstracts is also available in Thai and English.     

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners produces daily briefings based on research and monitoring of arrests, killings, imprisonment of civilians in Myanmar after the 2021 coup took place. This is a severe violation of human rights and civilians’ dignity and security.