The Asia Foundation

60 Merali Scholars will Receive Four-Year Undergraduate Scholarships at Prestigious Mongolian Universities

Ulaanbaatar – In a country where a limited portion of students enroll in higher education, many young Mongolian women face challenges in pursuing studies at a college or university. Committed to improving access to education across Asia, The Asia Foundation today launched the Shirin Pandju Merali Foundation Scholars Program in Mongolia to support university education for qualified female students who, despite their academic competence, are unable to continue their education due to financial constraints.

Through a generous donation from the Shirin Pandju Merali Foundation, established by Pandju Merali in honor of his late wife, Shirin Merali, the program will provide four-year scholarships to 60 women at two prestigious public universities in Ulaanbaatar: National University of Mongolia (NUM) and Mongolian University of Science and Technology (MUST). The  program in Mongolia will enroll 48 women in hard-science bachelor’s degree programs and 12 in social science bachelor’s degree programs.

The Asia Foundation will partner with a local Mongolian non-governmental organization, the Zorig Foundation, which has extensive experience in implementing scholarship programs in Mongolia to support the selection and monitoring of scholarship recipients.. The first scholars in Mongolia will enroll in September 2010. All costs for tuition, fees, educational supplies, and books will be covered by the scholarships.

Studies show higher education is essential to reducing poverty. Population increases in Ulaanbaatar, and great distances across Mongolia, combined with poor infrastructure and seasonal challenges in rural areas contribute to difficulties in providing children and youth with quality education – critical for driving economic growth. This program is especially timely given Mongolia’s recent winter Dzud during which extremely cold temperatures resulted in the loss of more than eight million livestock that disproportionally affected herder families in rural areas.

Since 1954, The Asia Foundation has worked to improve access to and the quality of education across Asia—especially for girls. In 1993, the Foundation was the first international NGO to set up operations in Mongolia. Since then, the Foundation has played an instrumental role in developing and strengthening governance and civil society in Mongolia.

In June 2010, The Asia Foundation launched the Shirin Pandju Merali Foundation Scholars Program in Pakistan for 200 young women.  The Pakistani scholars will enroll in the 2010-2011 academic year.

An article in BusinessMirror details the findings of the poll on people’s evaluation of the May 2010 election. The poll was administered by the Social Weather Stations with support from The Asia Foundation, and found that three out of four Filipinos were satisfied with the first automated nationwide elections in the Philippines. Read the full article: “SWS: 75% of Filipinos satisfied with national polls.”

An article in Bayanihan announces the Caraga Media Summit  in Northeastern Mindanao, that aims to tackle the fate and security of working journalists who are covering sensitive events and areas in the southern island. The Asia Foundation is identified as a sponsor of the event. Read the full article: “3-day Caraga Media Summit 2010 set in Surigao City.”

In an article in BusinessWorld about the  conference, “Food for All: Investment Forum for Food Security in Asia and the Pacific” held at the Asian Development Bank in Manila, a farmer’s group in Mindanao is cited as an example of how small growers can target and meet  needs of hotels, supermarkets, restaurants and fastfood chains in major urban centers. The Asia Foundation is mentioned as an organizer of the conference. Read the full article: “N. Mindanao vegetable growers meet big demand.”

Pacific Forum CSIS features an article by Scott Snyder and See-Won Byun on China-Korea relations in its quarterly assessment of East Asian bilateral relationships.  Read the full article: “The Cheonan and China’s “Double Play”.”

Dili, Timor-Leste – July 23, 2010 –Today, Timor-Leste held its inaugural community policing conference in Dili. The conference, “Strengthening Security Through Community Policing,” was hosted by the Timor-Leste National Police Force (PNTL) with support from The Asia Foundation as part of the Community-Oriented Policing Program (CMCOP) funded by USAID.

The conference attracted 70 senior level police officers from across Timor-Leste.  Police and community leaders participated in panel discussions and debates on the role of community policing in resolving local public safety and reducing crime levels. At the broadest level, community policing builds relationships between communities and police in an effort to monitor local public security issues and provide oversight on the performance of the police.

“In simple terms, community policing is a philosophy. This philosophy opens the way for community participation and police to work together,” Community Police Commander Joao Belo said. “The PNTL has shown a real commitment to establishing meaningful partnerships with the local community.”

The Asia Foundation Country Representative Silas Everett reiterated that community policing is a natural starting point for community and police to work together to make communities in Timor-Leste safer.

“Police are an important bridge between the formal and informal systems of justice in Timor-Leste,” said TAF Country Representative Silas Everett. “What we saw in today’s conference was the first consolidated attempt to capture examples, perspectives, and stories of the progress already made by both community and police in improving local security together.”

See more information about Community Policing in Timor-Leste.

A Zamboanga Times article reports that the Philippine government’s anti-poverty and social services projects in Mindanao have received support from NGOs and the private sector. In addition, The Asia Foundation will aid local government units improve fiscal performance and accountability through the USAID-supported Transparent Accountable Governance (TAG) program. Steve Rood is quoted. Read the full article: “Companies pledge support to KALAHI-CIDSS projects in Northern Mindanao”

Dr. David M. Lampton, Asia Foundation trustee and director of China Studies at The Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies, was recently awarded the inaugural Robert A. Scalapino Prize in recognition of his exceptional contributions to America’s understanding of the vast changes underway throughout the Asia-Pacific region. The Scalapino Prize was awarded by the National Bureau of Asian Research and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at the Asia Policy Assembly on June 17, 2010, in Washington, D.C.

This prize honors the legacy of Professor Robert A. Scalapino, founder and director of the East Asian Studies Institute at the University of California at Berkeley. For the past six decades, Professor Scalapino has been considered America’s foremost scholar of the Asia-Pacific region having written 38 books and more than 600 journal articles on U.S.-Asian relations.

Dr. Lampton was awarded the Scalapino Prize for his paper titled “Power Constrained: Sources of Mutual Strategic Suspicion in U.S. – China Relations.”  He is a prolific author.  His most recent book is The Three Faces of Chinese Power: Might, Money, and Minds, published in 2008.

The British High Commission in Sri Lanka announces the opening of the Tamil-language training center for police officers. With support from The Asia Foundation and the British High Commission, the center aims to build trust between Tamil communities and predominantly Sinhalese-speaking security forces. Read the full article: “UK assistance to address language barriers of police officers.”

Thursday, August 23, 2010
5:30 networking reception, 6-7:30 p.m. program
Location: Commonwealth San Francisco Club Office
MLF: Asia-Pacific Affairs
Cost: MEMBERS FREE, $20 non-members

Following the overthrow of the misogynistic Taliban regime in Afghanistan, the situation for women seemed to enter a promising era. A Ministry of Women was established, and a new constitution guaranteed women 25-percent representation in the legislature. But progress has been stymied in Afghanistan and regionally. More than 80 percent of Afghan women are illiterate and many remain victims of violence. Our experts will address the key challenges that hamper progress in both Afghanistan and South Asia and present possible solutions. The panel will argue that improving the situation of women is the most effective way to ensure sustainable development in the region.

Katherine Brown: Truman National Security Project Fellow; Former Communications and Public Events Advisor, U.S. Embassy Kabul; NGO Worker; Former White House Staffer
Kate Francis: Assistant Director, Women’s Empowerment Program, the Asia Foundation.
Olga Oliker: Senior International Policy Analyst, the RAND Corporation

Program Organizer: Paul Clarke
In association with the Truman National Security Project Educational Institute, The Asia Foundation and the Asia Society of Northern California.

Purchase tickets here.

The Asia Foundation’s Center for U.S.-Korea Policy has released its July newsletter, featuring: “Prospects for an Inter-Korean Summit in the Post-Cheonan Era,” by Kim Sung Bae, Research Fellow of the Institute for National Security Strategy, South Korea. Read his essay and find out about the Center’s latest activities in the July issue.

Dili, Timor-Leste – Today, The Asia Foundation’s Books for Asia program in Timor-Leste launched a book drive to distribute 8,000 books across the country. Recipients include 223 local organizations in the Timor-Leste districts of Dili, Liquiça, Ermera, Maliana, Baucau, and Aileu. Over the next six weeks, the program will distribute new textbooks and general reading materials to schools, public libraries, universities, local NGOs, and government agencies.

“The Books for Asia program in Timor-Leste is proud to work with local community groups to highlight the transformative power of books and community libraries,” said Hugo Fernandes, Program Manager BFA. “Through this donation of books, we hope to cultivate a strong culture of reading to foster life-long learning in an environment with limited educational resources.”

Since 2003, Books for Asia Timor-Leste has distributed more than 81,000 books donated by American publishers to local institutions across all of Timor Leste’s 13 districts.

A Jakarta Post article announces the winners of the Ahmad Wahib award for essays on religious diversity. The Asia Foundation’s Lies Marcoes Natsir is identified as a member of the judging panel. Read the full article: “Religion is a person’s private domain: Young writers.”

The Chronicle of Philanthropy features on its Social Philanthropy Blog a guest post by The Asia Foundation’s Director of Digital Media, John Karr, who writes on the “Choose a Book, Change a Life” campaign on Facebook and the value of social media for non-profits. Read the full blog post: “Guest Post: Getting the Most From Your Facebook Fans.”

In a Philippine Information Agency article examining corruption among managers running Filipino companies, a 2009 survey conducted by Social Weather Station in partnership with The Asia Foundation is extensively cited. Read the full article: “Commentary: How Filipino managers view corruption.”

A Yonhap News article examines the possibility of North Korea resuming six-party talks in the wake of a U.N. Security Council statement that condemned the Cheonan attack. Scott Snyder is quoted as saying that the statement was designed to “lay the foundations for renewed diplomacy with the North.” Read the full article: “U.S. calls on N. Korea to pledge not to provoke further before 6-way talks resumption: State Dept.”

A post on the Pearson Foundation Blog features the final Mongolia video from the “Choose a Book, Change a Life” campaign. See the blog post: “The Asia Foundation Odyssey with Peter Rabbit.”

A New Mandala blog post about the Thai judiciary system cites findings from The Asia Foundation’s “Survey of the Thai People,” which found that approximately two-thirds of Thais believe that the judiciary conforms to a high level of integrity and is generally unbiased. Read the full blog post: “Thai Institutions: Judiciary.”

A piece in The Irrawaddy examines the tense political climate of Timor-Leste. Silas Everett, The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in Timor-Leste is quoted as discussing improvements in the country’s police force that have generally escaped media attention. Read the full article: “Tense Times in Timor-Leste.”