The Asia Foundation

Bangkok and Hanoi

The global financial crisis has had a sharp, negative effect on the export-dependent economies of Asia, threatening to undermine gains made in recent years. Conditions continue to worsen for the working poor and migrant laborers whose hours and wages have been cut, forcing scores to return to their family homes. Rural communities are struggling to absorb returning laborers and make due without worker remittances. Data indicates that migrant workers, one of the most socially fragile groups in developing economies, have been severely affected, particularly women workers in the garment, textile, and electronics industries. Today, The Asia Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation announced a new initiative to alleviate the impact of the recession on the most vulnerable populations in Thailand and Vietnam. The new project will respond to the dire need for social services, training programs, and legal aid education as well as provide small emergency grants to civil society organizations.

Civil society organizations in Thailand and Vietnam are ideally positioned to help struggling workers weather the impact of the global economic downturn. Serving as a voice for society’s marginalized groups, these organizations have also suffered a decrease in funding and are operating with fewer resources needed to improve public services and respond to their communities’ most urgent needs. The project will provide financial support to these organizations and focus on sustainable solutions that address practical and effective community-based recovery.

For instance, in Thailand, the new project will facilitate emergency economic support and social services through the establishment of a Labor Crisis Center. The Center will provide pro bono legal aid and information to workers who have been laid off from their jobs or are facing imminent dismissal. Counseling will be provided through office consultations and through a 24-hour telephone hotline. To advance public policy advocacy, the Center will create an economic and labor information data base. And in Vietnam, project activities will focus on working with civil society groups to help migrant workers access critical public services such as health and legal aid, and to support select rural cooperatives as they respond to the development needs of their communities. The project will also convene representatives from civil society, government agencies, the National Assembly, research institutes, the private sector, and the media for a national dialogue. Participants will discuss key challenges to equitable and sustainable development and share innovative and practical solutions to address these problems.

The Asia Foundation will implement this two-year, $1,750,000 project with support from the Rockefeller Foundation.

For media inquires, please visit our Press Room.

In a New York Times article about the effect that Vietnam’s recent export decline has had on its economy, The Asia Foundation’s Director for Economic Reform and Development Programs Bruce Tolentino is quoted on the Vietnamese government’s response to the decline. Read the full article: “Vietnam Is Refining Its Role on the Global Stage.”

Hanoi -
New Project Will Reach 40,000 Students through Education and Training

Read the Vietnamese language version of this press release.

Today, The Asia Foundation announced a new grant of $500,000 from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for a two-year project to strengthen the Government of Vietnam’s ongoing anti-trafficking efforts in the Mekong Delta.

Through an integrated, multi-sectoral, victim-centered approach, the USAID-supported project seeks to reduce the vulnerability of communities in the Mekong Delta to human trafficking by increasing awareness of safe migration strategies and increasing the quality of care and support available to victims of trafficking, drawing on best practices from other countries in the region.

To help prevent trafficking, The Asia Foundation and its partner, the Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences under the Ministry of Education and Training, will build upon and further refine an earlier school-based safe migration program in An Giang and Can Tho provinces – major trafficking hotspots near the Cambodia-Vietnam border – to reach 40,000 students from at-risk communities. Trainings for teachers and school officials will focus on messages and techniques that can be replicated in other schools and communities. Outreach efforts will incorporate successful materials developed under recent pilot projects such as the Safe Migration for a Better Life handbook and guidelines on how to find a job in major urban centers.

“The Asia Foundation-led safe migration pilot program was practical and useful for students, and information provided through the activities has helped to guide them to safe migration and safe employment,” said Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh, director of the An Giang Provincial Education and Training Department.

To assist victims of trafficking, another program priority will focus on improving the rehabilitation process. Given that many victims are in a vulnerable psychological state, there is significant potential for re-traumatization after they are rescued. The Asia Foundation will work with the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MOLISA) and service providers – including police, legal professionals, social workers, and health care workers – to draft a policy document that defines a victim’s basic rights as well as outlines best practices for ensuring a minimum standard of care. The Foundation will draw on its experience working with the Cambodian government to develop the recently-released Policy and Minimum Standard for the Protection of the Rights of Victims of Human Trafficking. To draft a victim assistance manual that is appropriate in the context of Vietnam, The Asia Foundation will facilitate consultations among key stakeholders and practitioners. Once the draft is approved by MOLISA, the Foundation will conduct training workshops to implement the new policy.

Trafficking in persons is a high priority issue for the Foundation. In Vietnam, the Foundation has supported a comprehensive counter-trafficking program since 2002 to address both the underlying causes and consequences of trafficking.  Programs are implemented to empower young people to better protect themselves from sexual and labor exploitation as they look for ways out of poverty by providing safe migration and legal rights information as well as with interventions to improve their economic position.

Read more about USAID in Vietnam.

Read more about The Asia Foundation’s work in Vietnam.

For media inquires, please visit our Press Room.

In response to growing demand, The Asia Foundation will make the raw firm-level survey data from its Vietnam (2006-2008), Cambodia (2006 and 2008) and Indonesia (2007) Economic Governance Indexes (EGI) available to the public upon request, along with their accompanying survey instruments, user guides, and codebooks.

As the primary data source for The Foundation’s EGIs, these surveys collect information about local government regulations and how they impact private sector development. The data contain valuable information that will help expand research and analysis in the areas of good governance, growth, and private sector development.

The data also provides relevant economic governance information to policymakers, business leaders, and citizens. This information creates demand for an improved business environment among the private sector and provides local and national leaders with information about best practices as they seek to improve economic policies.

To request the data or for more information, visit The Asia Foundation’s Economic Governance Index page or contact Nina Merchant, Assistant Director, Economic Reform & Development, at nmerchant@asiafound.org.

On Thursday, June 25, The Asia Foundation’s private fundraising teams, spearheaded by Corporate and Foundation Relations Director Nayna Agrawal, hosted an informational conference call with Vietnam Country Representative Kim Ninh. The call covered modern development challenges and opportunities in rapidly changing Vietnam, focusing on education, women’s rights, and the environment. A representative from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Libraries program also spoke on the state of education in Vietnam, as well as our partnership with the Global Libraries program to expand internet capacity in public libraries in the country.

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The full call (1 hour total) was recorded and is included here for you to listen in. We hope you will find it as engaging and informative as we did! For questions or further information, please contact Nayna Agrawal at nagrawal@asiafound.org.

In a San Jose Mercury News article about human trafficking in Vietnam and Cambodia, The Asia Foundation’s contact details are provided as an organization “working to prevent human trafficking among Vietnam’s poor.” Read the full article:  “Globalization’s ugly side: sex slavery.”

Washington, D.C.

Asian Perspectives

Global Integration, Global Crisis: Challenges and Prospects for Vietnam’s  Development

Thursday, June 18, 2009
9:30-11:00 a.m.

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Choate Room
1779 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

Vietnam’s economic progress over the past decade has been remarkable, and the country was poised to deepen its integration into the global market after successfully gaining WTO membership at the end of 2006.   With the world’s economy beginning its downward spiral in 2007 and no end yet in sight, Vietnam is having to institutionalize market mechanisms while responding to unprecedented global uncertainty.  The Asia Foundation is pleased to focus on Vietnam in its upcoming Asian Perspectives seminar, with the participation of two influential thinkers reflective of a new generation of intellectuals in Vietnam and the Foundation’s Vietnam country representative.   The speakers will provide insights into key challenges facing Vietnam’s economy, legal reform and governance, and important factors in U.S.-Vietnam relations.

Feature speakers:

Dr. PHAM Duy Nghia, Head of Business Law Department, Faculty of Law, Hanoi National University
Dr. VU Thanh Tu Anh, Director of Research, Fulbright Economics Teaching Program, Ho Chi Minh City
Dr. Kim N. B. NINH, The Asia Foundation, Country Representative, Vietnam

Please RSVP to Diana Fernández at dfernandez@asiafound-dc.org or (202) 588-9420 by Friday, June 12.

Yahoo! Finance published news about The Asia Foundation’s new 18-month project to strengthen public library institutions and support public Internet access in Vietnam, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The award of U.S. $400,715 is the first Gates Foundation grant received by The Asia Foundation. Read the full story, “Asia Foundation Launches Project to Support Public Libraries and Internet Access in Vietnam.”

Hanoi

The Asia Foundation, the premier non-profit organization devoted to Asia’s development, announced today an 18-month project to strengthen public library institutions and support public Internet access in Vietnam, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The award of U.S. $400,715 is the first Gates Foundation grant received by The Asia Foundation. The project will help expand the public’s access to information in rural areas and provide opportunities for Vietnamese citizens to significantly improve their daily lives. The project will complement, reinforce, and broaden a concurrent planning grant from the Gates Foundation to Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC).

The Asia Foundation will work closely with its long-term partner, the National Library of Vietnam (NLV), and other public library institutions in Vietnam to expand access to information, especially for disadvantaged groups and communities. Project activities will seek to strengthen the capabilities of public library institutions to create a more welcoming and accessible library environment, and to promote public access to computers and the Internet through mass media, public campaigns, and community events.

Under this initiative, approximately 90 public library staff at the provincial and district levels, and 270 commune staff from 90 selected sites will be trained to educate library patrons on effective use of the Internet, significantly increasing their access to information. To further interest and inform citizens about these new services, local “Internet festivals” and other public outreach activities will be held in Vietnam. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is a rapidly growing service area in Vietnam, with annual growth in ICT penetration nationwide estimated at 8 percent, and Internet access becoming a top demand.

While The Asia Foundation will support public access to computers and the Internet through the development of management and public outreach skills, Vietnam’s MIC will focus on developing and testing models to deliver public Internet access to pilot sites.

The purpose of the MIC pilot program is to learn which tools are most conducive to helping rural Vietnamese improve their lives. In addition to testing models of public access, MIC will take an integrated approach, including access, content, training, and advocacy. The program will focus on 99 pilot sites, primarily located in public libraries and Cultural Post Offices in three rural provinces, and will plan for potential implementation on a national scale.

The Asia Foundation has partnered with the National Library of Vietnam since 1993 on numerous education programs, including the donation and distribution of almost 400,000 English language books to provincial public libraries, research organizations, and educational institutions throughout the country over the last fifteen years.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Libraries initiative is working to open the world of knowledge, information, and opportunity to many more people. Part of the Global Development Program, Global Libraries works with select countries that demonstrate a need and a readiness to help public libraries provide free access to computers and the Internet and training on how to make full use of these tools. The initiative is working to transform public libraries into vital resources that can help improve the lives of millions of people.

Read more about The Asia Foundation’s projects in Vietnam. For media inquiries, please visit the Press Room.

In an article written by Tim Johnston for Financial Times, Kim Ninh, The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in Vietnam, discussed the role of blogs in gathering news in Vietnam. Read the Financial Times article, “Vietnam moves to rein in surge in blogging.”

In an article written by Tim Johnston forThe Washington Post, Kim Ninh, The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in Vietnam, discussed the role of blogs in gathering news in Vietnam. The article was republished by the Dallas Morning News and Intellasia. Read The Washington Post article,”Vietnamese Authorities Rein In the Country’s Vigorous Blogosphere.”

HANOI

Fourth Iteration of National Survey Measures Role of Economic Governance in Vietnam’s Private Sector Development

For the fourth consecutive year, The Asia Foundation and its partners today released the 2008 Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) report. The 2008 PCI survey is the largest and most comprehensive assessment and ranking of the performance of provincial governments based on the views expressed by over 7,820 domestic entrepreneurs and managers from firms across Vietnam’s 64 provinces. Every year, this highly anticipated survey gauges the impact of economic and administrative reforms at both the provincial and national levels and guides the decisions of Vietnam’s policymakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs.

Developed and implemented by The Asia Foundation and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with funding from the United States Agency for International Development’s Vietnam Competitiveness Initiative (VNCI), the 2008 PCI results can be compared to benchmark data contained in reports from 2005, 2006, and 2007 to measure progress, as well as identify areas still in need of improvement. Based on the perceptions and the experience of Vietnamese businesses, the PCI survey examines local efforts to improve business-friendliness on a total of 10 dimensions, such as access to land and information, transaction costs related to inspections and registration waiting periods, transparency, and improve labor training and legal institutions.

Two new features were added to the PCI report this year: an Infrastructure Index and an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sub-index. The Infrastructure Index addresses the growing interest in evaluating Vietnam’s infrastructure and its impact on the country’s international competitive advantage. It ranks the country province by province, in the following ways: 1) industrial zone quality and capacity; 2) transportation costs; 3) telecommunications and energy costs and stability; and 4) major infrastructure, such as ports and airports. The report underscores why it is critical that policymakers find the right balance between the redistribution of wealth across all provinces and growth-inducing infrastructure investments in areas that have the fastest population growth and largest share of economic output.

The Information and Communications Technology sub-index measures the level of infrastructure necessary for ICT growth, the number of household and business computer users and internet subscribers in each province, and it calculates overall domestic and international bandwidth, as well as broadband services. In Vietnam, annual growth in ICT penetration is estimated at 8 percent. Notably, 27 percent of the PCI respondents recorded active email addresses on their survey forms, and major urban areas like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City had over 60 percent of firms using email addresses as their primary contact information. The ICT sub-index is based on data gathered by the Office of the Steering Committee for National Information Technology Readiness of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Other significant findings in the 2008 PCI report compared to past PCI report findings include:

• Da Nang province emerged as the new top performer. Da Nang achieved the best score this year over Binh Duong, which has held the top ranking three years in a row. Both provinces remain in the Excellent tier and their final scores (72.18 and 71.76) are statistically indistinguishable.
• Findings show that, despite the strong stability in PCI rankings over time, 2008 scores are generally lower across every level of the PCI rankings. The median province received a score about 2.4 points lower than in 2007, dropping from 55.6 to 53.2. Median scores remain higher than in 2006 (52.41), but the impressive governance improvements experienced between 2006 and 2007 have reversed somewhat.
• Two sub-indices, Labor and Private Sector Development, show dramatic declines and affected the overall PCI scores significantly. As the possible cause, the report’s authors point to evidence of actual deterioration in public service delivery, and/or increasing firm expectations that have not been met by proportionate improvements in the quality of government services.
• Waiting periods for business registration and other formalities of business entry are at historic lows. In the median province, registration now takes only 12.5 days and fewer than 6 percent of respondents waited more than three months to finish all business entry procedures.
• Property rights are at historic highs. This year, 81 percent of PCI respondents in the median province have formal Land Use Rights Certificates, up from 75 percent in 2007 and 55 percent in 2006.
• Usage of Provincial Economic Courts to resolve business disputes has nearly doubled in the past year. The number of total cases filed more than doubled between 2006 and 2007, from 2,445 to 5,198, while the number of cases filed by private entrepreneurs grew by 130 percent in 2007 compared with 2006. This trend indicates that entrepreneurs have greater faith in legal institutions and also may reflect improvement in contract and other commercial laws in Vietnam over the past six years, due in part to the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with the United States.

Despite some important improvements, there are sobering findings. The continuing burden of cumbersome regulatory procedures unnecessarily raises firms’ costs and cuts into their bottom lines, while the lack of real progress on informal charges substantially raises the risks of entrepreneurial activity. The continuing reform efforts of the government are essential to remove administrative burdens and reduce these costs and risks. Notable efforts include the Prime Minister’s Master Plan on Administrative Procedures Simplification in all aspects of State Administration from 2007 to 2010 (Project 30), the National Strategy on Combating and Preventing Corruption to 2020, and Civil Service Reform through the adoption of a new Law on Public Officials and Civil Servants.

Over the past four years, the PCI surveys have become an important tool used by government leaders, academics, financial analysts, entrepreneurs, and the media as a way of understanding how leadership can influence economic performance, as well as guide provinces on how to increase economic competitiveness. Together, these landmark reports have consistently demonstrated direct links between good economic governance, positive investment, and economic growth.

The Asia Foundation established an office in Hanoi in 2000. Its economic programs in Vietnam focus on improving the environment for private sector development and economic growth, particularly provincial economic competitiveness. The Foundation and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry pioneered research carried out between 2002 and 2004 to identify factors that set high-performing provinces apart. This work informed the subsequent development of the Provincial Competitiveness Index.

Read or download the full report and learn more about the Foundation’s economic programs in Vietnam.

To Kim Lien, a Program Manager of The Asia Foundation in Vietnam, was quoted in a recent Agence France-Presse story on the effects of booming industrialism on Vietnam’s environment. Read the full story, “‘Cancer village’ the dark side of Vietnam’s industrial boom.”

Read Lien’s full piece on the situation from In Asia, The Asia Foundation’s blog: “In Vietnam: A Race to Save the Dying Rivers.”

Kim Ninh, The Asia Foundation’s Representative in Vietnam, was quoted in today’s Wall Street Journal story about the Miss Vietnam beauty pageant. Read “For Ex-Miss Vietnam, Uneasy Lies The Head That Quit High School.”

Ninh also wrote a full piece on this topic, “Beauty and Lost Innocence,” which appeared in the International Herald Tribune.

Kim Ninh, The Asia Foundation Representative in Vietnam, is quoted extensively in a recent PBS Frontline/World piece on the upcoming U.S. Presidential election and U.S.-Vietnam relations. The piece is by journalist Nguyen Qui Duc, former host of KQED’s Pacific Time and now a permanent resident of Hanoi. See the video dispatch and related article: “Vietnam: Forgive and Forget?“

Kim Ninh, The Asia Foundation’s Representative in Vietnam, has been quoted in The International Herald Tribune on the effects of inflation on the Vietnamese people. Read the article, “In Vietnam, even ghosts feel inflation’s pinch.”

San Francisco

Today, The Asia Foundation welcomed three winners of a nationwide English essay contest conducted last year for Vietnamese students by the Foundation and The National Library of Vietnam. These young “cultural ambassadors” will embark on a 10-day visit to three U.S. cities. The contest was open to Vietnamese students between the ages of 18-22 and each candidate was asked to express his or her hopes for Vietnam’s future. The winning essays provide a rich portrait of the expectations of Vietnamese youth, and the visit will give Americans a better understanding of modern-day Vietnam.

The cultural ambassadors are Ms. Nguyen Do Thuy Anh, a student at Vietnam National University in Hanoi, Ms. Pham Thuy Tien, a student at Ho Chi Minh City National University, and Ms. Than Nguyen Thuy Linh, a student at the University of Danang. The visit begins in the San Francisco Bay Area, continues to North Carolina, and ends in Washington, D.C. with a focus on civic engagement among American youth and their participation in the political, social and cultural spheres in their communities.

During their visit, the participants will gain a sense of the issues and concerns that are important to American college students, such as economic opportunities, cultural identity, and the environment. At the same time, the role of new media and technology will be examined. The program will also explore pluralism in American society, and the distinctive cultural identity of different regions in the nation.

The ambassadors will meet with Americans peers on university campuses and in grassroots organizations. They will have opportunities to observe political activities related to the 2008 presidential election, social services including serving a meal at a homeless shelter, visit institutions such as National Geographic Society and the Library of Congress, and attend various cultural events, such as the Fourth of July celebrations held in the nation’s capital. The three students will also enjoy home stays with American families to allow for a more holistic experience and a deeper understanding of the diversity of American life and culture, while allowing American families the opportunity to learn more about Vietnam.

Essays were judged by the National Library of Vietnam’s network of provincial libraries and regional committees. The ambassadors will be accompanied by the Director of the National Library, a Vietnamese professor of American Studies, and a Foundation staff member.

Upon their return to Vietnam, these cultural ambassadors will discuss their experiences in the United States, their impressions of American culture and society, and the impact the trip has had on them at a press conference to be held in Hanoi. Finally, the ambassadors will each give a presentation at the provincial libraries to their home communities.

Read more about the essay contest.

Program Manager, Vietnam
To Kim Lien was the first local staff person hired in The Asia Foundation’s Vietnam office eight years ago. Among her many accomplishments, she’s most proud of a program that brings anti-trafficking and safe migration education into schools in Vietnam. Many children migrate for employment at a very young age to provide income for their families, making them vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking. In response, Lien led the Foundation’s efforts to introduce Safe Migration in Schools, reaching at-risk students. The project first trained teachers on safe migration, labor, and employment issues relevant to young people who taught students using school-based campaign activities like writing and art contests, games, and performances. This is the first time these topics have ever been integrated into Vietnam’s schools.

Lien learned early in her career that coordination between various levels of government is necessary to effective development. She began her career working on rural development projects, as well as agriculture and forestry programs for the Vietnam-Sweden Cooperation Program for Rural Development, the Committee for Mountainous and Minority Areas, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. “I had chances to work at different levels of the government from the national down to villages including those in rural, mountainous, and remote areas. I gained a solid understanding of government and policy-making structures, as well as different ways of thinking, solving problems, interests of different target groups and stakeholders at all administration levels.”

Now a Program Manager for the Foundation in Vietnam, Lien has brought those experiences to her work on women’s empowerment and anti-trafficking programs, as well as labor rights, public participation, and local budget transparency programs.

Lien thrives as a facilitator and coordinator, bringing together communities, organizations, and government units to solve problems. “I am grateful for the opportunity to design and support programs for many disadvantaged groups, especially women and children, in my country,” Lien says. She says finds working with these groups tremendously inspiring. “I am happy to be able to facilitate support to those who really need it.”

Return to contents.

Vietnam has made significant economic and developmental progress in the last few decades, but as it operates in an increasingly global landscape, families living in rural areas are plunging deeper into poverty. About 90 percent of Vietnam’s poor live in remote rural areas. Families struggle to make ends meet as rapid urbanization pushes them further from economic and educational opportunities.

Studies show higher education is key to reducing poverty. Although primary school is officially free in Vietnam, families are responsible for books, uniforms, transportation, and maintenance costs of the school building. University level education, which costs US$960 per year in Vietnam, is virtually impossible for poor families who typically earn less than US$240 per year and depend on their children to contribute to total household income.

To increase educational opportunities for poor students in Vietnam, The Asia Foundation, with generous donor support, has partnered with the Vietnamese Association for Promoting and Supporting Educational Development to implement a four-year scholarship program. Roughly $250 covers one student per year; already, more than 140 disadvantaged girls have been able to attend primary and/or lower secondary school.

With our staff on the ground in Vietnam, the Foundation is able to ensure that scholarship recipients have the network of support needed for success. Additional funds provide vocational education programs so recipients can become economically independent and support their families. For example, one current donor couple has funded an embroidery training program where beneficiaries can learn the skills to earn a sustainable livelihood.

“Because my family is very poor, my parents had planned to let me stay at home to support them. My parents wanted me to drop out of school to save costs for my brothers to be able to continue studying. Fortunately, I received a scholarship from The Asia Foundation. I was so happy and moved to be able to go to school with my friends again.”

- Nguyen Thi Be Hong, grade 8, An Phu district, An Giang province

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San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Berkeley, CA – March 26, 2008
Palo Alto, CA – March 27, 2008
San Francisco, CA – March 28, 2008
Washington, D.C. – April 1, 2008

The Asia Foundation has pioneered a tool called the local “Economic Governance Index” (EGI) as a way to measure business-friendliness of local governments in Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. The EGI highlights provinces most open to private enterprise and least encumbered by red-tape when it comes to business set up, for example: entry and licensing costs, inspections and registration waiting periods, transparency, access to training and legal institutions.

The governments of these provinces have embraced the EGI as a tool to help them measure local reforms and government performance, and there has been public increased attention when index standings are announced, resulting in competition among provinces. As a result, businesses and entrepreneurs have begun to see it as a useful means of deciding where to put businesses. A team of economic experts are hosting a series of programs this Spring on this compelling index. We hope you are able to join one of the presentations.

Expert Speakers:

Bruce Tolentino, Director of Economic Reform and Development Programs at The Asia Foundation, San Francisco
Edmund Malesky, Asia Foundation partner and Assistant Professor, University of California, San Diego
Veronique Salze-Lozac’h, Regional Director of Economic Reform and Development Programs, The Asia Foundation, Cambodia
Neil McCulloch, Director of Economic Programs, The Asia Foundation, Indonesia

Berkeley – Wednesday, March 26, 2008: 10:00 am-1:00 pm, lunch included
UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) Library
109 Moses Hall, U.C. Berkeley Campus, Berkeley
Co-sponsored by Center for South Asia Studies, Center for Southeast Asia Studies, and Institute of Governmental Studies

Palo Alto – Thursday, March 27, 2008: 4:30–6:00pm
Stanford University’s Donald L. Lucas Conference Center
Corner of Galvez and Serra Streets, Stanford University Campus, Palo Alto
Co-sponsored by Stanford’s Center for International Development

San Francisco – Friday, March 28, 2008: noon–2:00 pm, lunch included
The Asia Foundation’s Haydn Williams Conference Room
465 California Street, 8th floor, San Francisco
Co-sponsored by Cal-Asia Business Council

For Bay Area events listed above, please reply by March 19, 2008 to rsvp@asiafound.org or 415 743-3347 with your name, affiliation, contact information, and the location/date of the one EGI presentation you would like to attend.

Washington, D.C. – Tuesday, April 1, 2008
For more information about the Washington D.C. event, please contact The Asia Foundation’s Washington office at rsvp@asiafound-dc.org.
Space is limited at all  locations.
You will be sent a confirmation within 2 business days of your request.