The Asia Foundation

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.

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.

Dili

The National Parliament of Timor-Leste officially launches a chapter of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians against Corruption (GOPAC). The establishment of a GOPAC chapter in Timor-Leste, arose in part due to a resolution from the anti-corruption conference held on April 21-22, 2010.

The conference brought together members of parliament, academia, and the government.  At the April conference, a dozen members of parliament committed their support to anti-corruption in Timor-Leste. Three main points on the resolution were: legislation to eradicate corruption; institutional building; and corruption prevention.

The Asia Foundation has been requested to serve as the Secretariat for the Timor-Leste National Chapter of GOPAC. In this regard, The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in Timor-Leste, Silas Everett said that “…in a strong democracy, legislatures serve actively on the front lines of the fight against corruption. The GOPAC chapter has already brought together members of parliament in this fight despite their party differences. The Foundation is honored to respond to the Parliament’s request for assistance in launching of the GOPAC chapter in Timor-Leste.”

“We hope that by establishing GOPAC today it will foster a strong commitment from the members of the National Parliament, who will then be able to, in one voice and vision, fight against corruption in Timor-Leste,” said Cipriana Pereira, President of the National Parliament’s Sub-Committee C on Anti-Corruption.

Ms. Pereira explained that in order to build a political capacity in the parliament regarding combating corruption, there is a need for both unity and GOPAC. These important steps will serve as the starting point to organize the Parliament around one vision.

For more information, please visit our Press Room.

Aileu

To celebrate Timor-Leste’s ten years of independence on May 20, 2010, the Aileu Resource and Training Center (ARTC), with support from The Asia Foundation, will gather together about 145 primary, pre-secondary, and secondary school students from 49 schools in the Aileu District to take part in a reading contest. ARTC’s mission is developing community activities while strengthening education skills.

“When we read, we give value to our culture; ourselves; our intellect; our capacity; and our nation, Timor-Leste. By reading we have the opportunity to build a good society,” said Mize da Silva, Books for Asia program officer at The Asia Foundation Timor-Leste.

Topics for this year’s reading contest will focus on environmental issues, highlighting concerns about worldwide climate change. Students participating in this competition attend schools located from the sub-districts of Aileu-Villa, Remexio, Lequidoe, and Laulara. This contest provides opportunities to students from all levels to participate in developing their reading and speaking skills, and to gain an appreciation for literacy.

For more information please visit our Press Room.

Dili, Timor-Leste

Twenty members of the National Police and over 500 citizens of Bidau-Santana sucos (village) in Dili, Timor-Leste took part in an ancient ceremony, called Tara Bandu, to establish a community-wide agreement for security. The ceremony was presided over by the President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, Jose Ramos Horta, General Commander of the National Police, Longinhos Monteiro, US Ambassador Hans Klemm, district officials, and community leaders.

The day-long ceremony was the first of its kind and organized by The Asia Foundation and supported by USAID. Traditionally, Tara Bandu is a way of protecting natural ecosystems and fills gaps in the formal legal system through the application of customary law. The ceremony addressed the community’s need for safety and security, by bringing together traditional and formal legal systems.

The Tara Bandu initiative came out of joint work done by The Asia Foundation and the National Police of Timor-Leste to form community police councils in Dili, Baucau, and over a dozen sucos over the last 14 months. Currently, these councils with police, community leaders, women representatives, and elders meet every other week to discuss issues which have a direct impact on security.

“The principles of community policing and the principles of Tara Bandu are very similar: They are both based on the idea that many of the problems that exist in the community can be prevented by citizens themselves,” observed The Asia Foundation Program Manager, Liam Chinn.

After ten years of independence, there are signs that events like the Tara Bandu ceremony—led hand in hand with the community and the police—are ways to move forward in the transition of state institutions into legitimate instruments of governance.

For more information, please visit our Press Room.

San Francisco and Dili

The Asia Foundation announced today it has appointed Susan Marx as its Deputy Country Representative in Timor-Leste. Ms. Marx comes to the Dili office from her post in Afghanistan, where she joined the Foundation in January 2008 as Program Manager for the Access to Justice program and later served as Acting Deputy Country Representative.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Ms. Marx was a consultant for the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights, and an Area Coordinator for the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development in charge of humanitarian assistance in northwest Afghanistan. Previously, she worked as a Program Officer for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Baghdad, Iraq. Along with substantial experience managing and developing programs, Ms. Marx has significant expertise in democracy, governance, and human rights.

Ms. Marx received a B.A., summa cum laude, in International Relations and Public Policy from the University of Southern California, an M.A. in African and International Development Studies from the University of California at Los Angeles, and is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in International Human Rights Law from Oxford University.

Since 1992, the Foundation has cooperated with local institutions in Timor-Leste on constitutional development and legal reform, education, foreign affairs, human rights, and leadership development. Responding to emerging needs in the country’s development, the Foundation now supports programs to strengthen the rule of law and the legislature’s role and effectiveness in legal reform; advance women’s rights; and improve the ability to manage conflict effectively. The Foundation works in partnership with key governmental and non-governmental organizations throughout the country in carrying out these programs. Read more about the Foundation’s programs in Timor-Leste.

For more information, please visit our Press Room.

Dili, Timor-Leste

The National Parliament of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, with funding and support from The Asia Foundation and USAID, held the Second International Conference on Corruption from April 21-22. The conference enlightened participants on the role of the National Parliament in combating corruption. Senior statesmen from legislatures in other developing countries shared their experience in eradicating corruption, provided insights into how parliamentarians can enhance their oversight of corruption, and identified gaps in existing legislation.

Mrs. Cipriana Pereira, President of the National Parliament’s Sub-Committee C on Anti-Corruption, explained, “This was our Second International Conference on Corruption.  We invited key international experts such as Global Organization of Parliamentarian Against Corruption and other experts in the legislative arena and national speakers, to share their ideas and perspectives on the impact of corruption on national development and successful approaches to fight corruption.”

Timor-Leste government members, leaders from all 13 districts, academics institutions, foreign embassies, international organizations and private sectors relevant to eradicating corruption attended.

“What is corruption in the context of Timor-Leste?” asked Silas Everett, Country Representative of The Asia Foundation in Timor-Leste. “We know the future of the country rests on efficient and effective spending of its petroleum wealth. In this sense, fighting corruption is a national effort—to define corruption and to ensure the coordination of national agencies with the business community, civil society, and local authorities.  Parliament’s constitutional role in this regard makes its leadership essential.”

For more information, please visit our Press Room.

In a TIME.com article about Timor-Leste’s police chief leading a campaign aimed at curbing “ninja” activities, The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in Timor-Leste Silas Everett is quoted on how the threat of ninjas resonates deep within the psyche of the formerly occupied nation. Read the full article: “Why East Timor Has Declared War on Ninjas.”

San Francisco and Canberra

As the international community searches for new ways to deliver aid and assistance in places affected by conflict and state fragility, the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and The Asia Foundation have formed a strategic partnership to enhance current approaches and explore new methods for supporting development, building peace and prosperity, and improving aid effectiveness. The agreement was signed at the Australian Embassy in Washington, D.C. on March 26, 2010 by Peter Baxter, Acting Director General of AusAID, and Douglas Bereuter, president and CEO of The Asia Foundation.

“This partnership is formed to bring together our collective experience in order to better address some of the most challenging questions facing the international community today,” said Douglas Bereuter, president and CEO of The Asia Foundation. “How can we think differently, and act differently, to improve conditions for those in turbulent, fragile societies, where people live in constant threat and development cannot take hold? The combined experience of our two organizations includes nearly every conflict-affected and fragile country in the Asia-Pacific region. I believe that this partnership has the potential to transform the way we work together across the region—and will contribute to global efforts to improve aid effectiveness.”

The goal of the partnership is to deepen and expand the strategies of AusAID, The Asia Foundation, and the international community to deliver aid and security in regions where the pace of development has fallen dramatically, especially where conditions have deteriorated. The partnership will include regular dialogue, collaboration, and joint program activities in Asia through June 2013. This new international effort builds on AusAID’s expertise in post-conflict reconstruction and The Asia Foundation’s recognized strengths in working on protracted sub-national conflicts, and building extensive networks in conflict-affected nations and regions.

Engagement between AusAID and The Asia Foundation has increased significantly in recent years, and the partnership agreement covering the next 39 months is designed to complement existing agreements at the country level by promoting greater sharing of knowledge and strategic concepts between the two organizations.

ABOUT AUSAID
AusAID is the Australian Government agency responsible for managing Australia’s overseas aid program. The objective of the aid program is to assist developing countries reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development, in line with Australia’s national interest. In 2009–10 Australia will provide $3.8 billion worth of official development assistance. Australia’s aid program focuses on the Asia Pacific region. The international community recognises Australia’s leading role in the region, particularly in PNG and the Pacific. The geographic focus of Australia’s aid program also makes sense given that two thirds of the world’s poor, some 800 million people, live in the Asia Pacific, yet receive less than one third of total aid flows. Australia’s broadened aid program provides assistance to Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean and South America, primarily through scholarships and by working through international and non-government organisations.

For more information, please visit our Press Room.

In a USAID press release announcing the religious leaders conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on “the role of religious and community leaders in advancing development in Asia,” The Asia Foundation is credited for co-hosting the three-day event March 21-24. Read the full article: “U.S. Sponsors Bangladesh Conference for Religious and Community Leaders on Advancing Development in Asia.”

Dili

The Asia Foundation and the Judicial System Monitoring Program announced today the launch of the Parliament Watch Program (PWP) in Timor-Leste. Through tools such as a new website, printed bulletins, and focus group discussions, the PWP will equip Timorese citizens with information and the ability to provide input to plenary and committee sessions and hearings. Additionally, the PWP will update the public through monthly reports on the status of laws, as well as the voting and attendance records of the members of the Parliament.

“The Parliament Watch Program’s reflects the fact that many Timorese want more transparency in the legislative process, which, at the end of the day, means expanding the number of access points to send and receive information,” explained Silas Everett, The Asia Foundation’s country representative in Timor-Leste.

The three-year program is supported by USAID and was launched with the guidance of members of the National Parliament. To gauge national perceptions of the justice system, The Asia Foundation recently conducted its second nationwide survey of the rule of law in Timor-Leste. View the full findings from Law and Justice in Timor-Leste: A Survey of Citizen Awareness and Attitudes Regarding Law and Justice 2008.

For more information please visit our Press Room.

In an Agence France-Presse wire story about village elections set to take place Friday in Timor-Leste, Jeremy Gross, The Asia Foundation’s Election Program Manager based in Indonesia, is quoted.  Read the full story: “Hopes high for peaceful polls in ETimor.

In an article in The Age (Australia) about Timor-Leste’s release of Martenus Bere, an Indonesian accused of crimes against humanity and bloodshed, findings from The Asia Foundation’s “Law and Justice in Timor-Leste: A Survey of Citizen Awareness and Attitudes Regarding Law and Justice 2008″ are cited. Read the full article: “Timor’s release of accused killer slammed.”

Dili, Timor-Leste

Rule of law in Timor-Leste remains in a state of transition since the country’s official declaration of independence and promulgation of its new Constitution in 2002. While there have been a range of notable achievements in the formal justice sector, serious challenges remain for maintaining peace and progress toward prosperity. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in Timor-Leste’s justice sector by the government and international assistance programs, yet questions about the overall access to justice in Timor-Leste persist.

To evaluate progress in strengthening the rule of law, The Asia Foundation is releasing findings from its landmark opinion poll, “Law and Justice in Timor-Leste: A Survey of Citizen Awareness and Attitudes Regarding Law and Justice – 2008.” The report reveals that confidence in traditional justice mechanisms remains slightly higher (85%) than in the newer formal court system (76%), yet confidence overall in the justice sector has decreased. A copy of the survey can be accessed in its entirety on the Foundation’s website.

The Asia Foundation conducted the survey, its second nationwide perceptions poll in Timor-Leste on law and justice issues, between November and December 2008, and compared citizens’ perceptions of law and justice in 2008 to their perceptions in the 2004 survey. The two Asia Foundation surveys are the only records of their kind available for longitudinal comparison of the establishment of rule of law in Timor-Leste.

It is widely believed that coordinated government and international assistance efforts have improved citizens’ access to justice. Key findings from the survey indicate that the public has an aspiration for a greater presence of courts in their locality: 85 percent of the 2008 survey respondents say they would want an official from the formal court system to come to their area compared to 54 percent of respondents in the 2004 survey.

However, the results of the 2008 survey suggest that the formal legal frameworks of the state have not reached many. When asked the question, “Who is responsible for making the rules that govern people’s lives?” respondents say 2:1 that traditional leaders versus state institutions are responsible for making the rules.

Perhaps of greatest concern is that attitudes condoning domestic violence have worsened.  In the 2004 survey, 75 percent of respondents said a man who hit his wife is categorically wrong. In the 2008 survey, only 34 percent felt this way.

“The survey gives policymakers insight into people’s perceptions about their options and obstacles for accessing justice in Timor-Leste, and we can’t progress as a country without knowing that,” says Fernanda Borges, a Member of Parliament and Chair of Parliament Committee A: Constitutional Affairs, Judiciary, Public Administration.

Since 2002, there have been notable achievements, such as increased training for judges, prosecutors, and public defenders, as well as the establishment of a new court of appeals and four district courts. Yet these successes have been met by multiple challenges. Between 2003 and 2006, with the exception of Dili, the ability of the courts to function effectively was greatly undermined by social and political instability. Meanwhile, traditional justice mechanisms that have been in place for hundreds of years yet are not formally recognized in the legal system continue to operate alongside the formal legal system. The result has been a de-facto hybrid system.

With co-funding from the Justice Facility (a bilateral cooperation program between the governments of Timor-Leste and Australia) and the U.S. Agency for International Development, The Asia Foundation designed the survey to inform policymakers about progress in the justice sector and provide a basis for designing initiatives to increase citizens’ access to justice. Survey interviews and fieldwork were conducted by Insight Consulting, a local organization specializing in social science research.

The complete report and survey findings are available on The Asia Foundation’s website. Download a copy of “Law and Justice in Timor-Leste: A Survey of Citizen Awareness and Attitudes Regarding Law and Justice – 2008.”

The Asia Foundation has been programming in Timor-Leste since 1992 and established a permanent office in 2000. Read more about our current programming.

For more information or to arrange an interview with Silas Everett, Country Representative in Timor-Leste, please visit our Press Room.

Dili, Timor-Leste

The Asia Foundation’s office in Timor-Leste, along with the local leaders of Suco Bairro Pite, Motael, and Kuluhun in Dili District, inaugurated the first-ever English Community Library in Dili. At the same time, a second English community library was dedicated on Atauro Island, 30 km north of Dili.

Responding to requests from the communities and community leaders, the library will serve the needs of patrons with brand new reading materials. For the Community Libraries inaugurated today, The Foundation provided bookshelves and books, including children’s books, reference texts, and topics covering history, mathematics, and general science.

At the ceremony, Silas Everett, the Foundation’s Representative, stated, “The Asia Foundation’s Books for Asia program intends to distribute more books to the community so that citizens have access to reading materials and information, and so that they may enhance their knowledge and skills.” The new libraries will also promote literacy within the community.

The inauguration of the Community Library was attended by community leaders, parents, and students from Suco Bairro Pite, Dili. After the ceremony, the students were allowed to read the books and enthusiastically thanked the Foundation.

In his remarks, Mr. Joao Batista, Chefe de Suco of Bairro Pite, thanked the Foundation’s effort in establishing the library, which, according to him, will serve the need of his communities by providing reading materials.

During the ceremony, a community member suggested that the Foundation could also establish additional English-language libraries in other rural areas of Dili that have difficulty accessing libraries and reading material. In response< Silas Everett stated that the Foundation is willing to work together with the community in establishing additional community libraries.

While in Suco Motael, the Foundation’s Unit Manager Hugo Fernandes, in his remarks, stated that the books provided should benefit the Motael communities by accessing the reading materials which will provide information and also entertainment. He added  that he hopes that the Suco Leader will maintain the library and providing wide access to the library especially for the children

In Suco Kuluhun, Mr. Francisco M. Ribeiro, the Suco Leader, stated that the Community Library is important in promoting a culture of reading and that reading will stimulate the students to learn for their future.

Since 2004, The Asia Foundation has distributed 60,000 books in Timor-Leste to about 130 organizations, including public schools, universities, NGO’s, government agencies, religious agencies and other non-profit organizations. Donated by American publishers annually, The Asia Foundation distributes books and education materials across all of Timor Leste’s 13 districts.

Dili, Timor-Leste

Challenged by ongoing social unrest and marred by violence in 2006 that left 37 dead and displaced close to 150,000 people, Timor-Leste signaled last week a positive step forward. On Friday, the government announced plans for the district-by-district transition of policing authority from the United Nations security forces to the Policia Nacional de Timor-Leste (PNTL), which coincided with the appointment of a new chief of police and the nine year anniversary of the establishment of the PNTL.

To coincide with these events and to shed light on the complex relationship between the PNTL and Timorese citizens, The Asia Foundation is releasing its findings from its landmark opinion poll, A Survey of Community-Police Perceptions; Timor-Leste in 2008 today. The report shows a high degree of confidence in police officers among citizens, but also reveals that the positive perceptions may have little to do with face-to-face interaction with the PNTL, which respondents indicated as infrequent. A copy of the survey is available in its entirety, here.

The Asia Foundation conducted the survey – the first-ever nationwide community-police perceptions poll in Timor-Leste – to gather opinions of Timorese citizens, community leaders, and members of the PNTL on security and police-related issues. The data will be presented to policymakers and stakeholders in government, the international community, and the broader Timorese public to address ongoing issues related to local level security and community-police relations.

It is widely believed that over the past year coordinated government and police-led efforts reduced gang-related violence and facilitated the return of over 6,500 internally displaced families. Key findings from the survey indicate that the public remains optimistic about security: 53 percent of the national public and 83 percent of the PNTL surveyed say the security situation in their locality has improved compared to one year ago. At the same time, nearly three-quarters of citizens are still concerned about their safety in their locality. One in five citizens point to gang violence as the most serious security issue, while 45 percent of police consider domestic violence to be the most serious issue.

Seventy-one percent of citizens believe the performance of the PNTL has improved compared to one year ago, and 84 percent express high confidence in the commitment of the PNTL to prevent crime. However, contact with the PNTL is infrequent among the national public (12 percent) and community leaders (33 percent) in the last year, and Timorese are four times more likely to identify community leaders, rather than the PNTL, as being primary responsible for maintaining security in their locality. The public still relies heavily on customary practices for resolving crimes or disputes. With the exception of violent crimes, most citizens prefer to seek justice through informal mediation led by community leaders.

“The survey gives numbers to the real issues that we face in the National Police. The results will help us prioritize our efforts,” said Joao Belo dos Reis, PNTL sub-inspector.  Prior to the turbulent events of 2006, only one in ten officers of the over 3,000-strong national police service had previous policing experience. The PNTL has consistently operated with minimal resources; for instance, officers did not have a functioning radio system and have relied on the UN radio network or their personal mobile phones instead, and there have been few vehicles available for patrolling and responding to calls. Despite these and other constraints, in 2008 the PNTL made progress on its own. In-house policy reform efforts were undertaken, including the training of staff members, and the PNTL’s national training academy conducted its first needs assessment and designed course curriculum.

With partial funding from the Australian Federal Police’s Timor-Leste Police Development program, The Asia Foundation designed the survey to inform policymakers on the dynamics of local level security and community-police relations, as well as provide a basis for designing initiatives to strengthen community-police cooperation. Survey results establish a baseline for measuring change in community-police relations over time. Following the release of this survey report, the Foundation will conduct a series of stakeholder workshops to address community security and police reform. Survey interviews and fieldwork were conducted between August and September of 2008 by Insight Consulting, a local organization specializing in social science research.

The complete report and survey findings are available on The Asia Foundation’s website. Download a copy of “A Survey of Community-Police Perceptions; Timor-Leste in 2008.” To learn more about the Survey, view the Frequently Asked Questions document.

The Asia Foundation is supporting next week’s “International Workshop on Autonomy and Armed Separatism in South and Southeast Asia” to be held in Singapore. The Foundation’s Steven Rood, Country Representative, Philippines and Pacific Island Nations Regional Advisor for Local Governance, and Thomas Parks, Regional Director for Conflict and Governance, will be speaking at the event. This international workshop promotes a multidisciplinary approach towards understanding national identity problems in seven South and Southeast Asian countries: Indonesia, Burma, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Thailand, India and Indonesia’s former province of Timor Leste (formerly East Timor).

The event is being jointly hosted by Asia Research Institute and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, and is also being supported by the Centre on Asia and Globalisation. For more information including registration, please visit the Asia Research Institute’s event page.

Dili

On May 23, The National Parliament of Timor-Leste inaugurated the new National Parliamentary Library with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held at the parliament building. This new institution will play a significant role in lawmaking and democracy-building for this young nation. The library was made possible through a partnership between the U.S. House Democracy Assistance Commission, the National Parliament of Timor-Leste, the U.S. Library of Congress, U.S. Embassy in Dili, and The Asia Foundation.Prior to the opening of the library, Timor-Leste’s parliament faced a major lack of essential research facilities, equipment, and informational resources in order to conduct the kind of research necessary for a parliament to exercise its full legislative strength. For example, four computers, sharing a single Internet connection, served the entire 88-member parliament.

The new facility now holds 12 workstations with Internet access, audio-visual equipment, over 400 texts of key legislative reference material, and trained library personnel. The MPs, many serving for the first time, now have immediate access to far more extensive and comprehensive print and electronic information on the issues being debated. In addition, they can access information on their overall legislative roles and duties, allowing them to improve the quality and level of legislative analysis and debate, as well as the overall quality of legislation.

After only four years of independence, this is a critical time for Timor-Leste’s parliament. Over the next year, it will face an important legislative schedule, including laws on elections, budget, local government, and territorial and administrative division. It must also build on progress to date in exercising more effective oversight of the government. The new library will serve as a resource to help legislators make well-informed decisions addressing their country’s needs.

Dili and San Francisco

The Asia Foundation, the premier non-profit organization devoted to Asia’s development since 1954, announced today the appointment of Silas Everett as Country Representative in Timor-Leste. An expert in civil society, governance, and conflict management programs, Mr. Everett brings a wealth of relevant international development experience to the Foundation’s Timor-Leste programs, which have assisted in the country’s development since 1992. He replaces Ms. Katherine Hunter, who was the Foundation’s Country Representative there since 2003.

Mr. Everett most recently worked in the Philippines as Mercy Corps’ Senior Technical Advisor for Civil Society and Conflict Management in South and Southeast Asia. Prior to that, he was Chief of Party and Project Director for the USAID-funded Training, Advocacy and Networking project for Mercy Corps in Mongolia. He served two stints with Catholic Relief Services, as Chief of Party/Head of Office on the Azerbaijan Civil Society Development Program, and in Serbia as an International Development Fellow on its Peace Building Program. He also served with the Peace Corps in Mongolia.

“We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Everett to the Foundation,” said Douglas Bereuter, president of The Asia Foundation, “and we look forward to furthering our programs in Timor-Leste strengthening the democratic and economic development of this young country.”

Mr. Everett obtained his Masters Degree from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and holds a B.A. from Tufts University in English and Philosophy. He speaks advanced Mongolian and is proficient in Nepalese, Spanish, Serbian, Russian and French.