Latest NewsSlain Sri Lankan Journalist was EWC Jefferson Fellow(HONOLULU) Jan. 9 -- Prominent Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickramatunga, who was gunned down yesterday in Colombo, was a 1995 participant in the East-West Center’s Jefferson Fellowships for journalists. Wickramatunga, the editor of the weekly Sunday Leader newspaper, was shot by unidentified gunmen on motorcycles as he drove to work. In an editorial he penned to be published in the event of his murder, Wickramatunga wrote: "No other profession calls on its practitioners to lay down their lives for their art save the armed forces and, in Sri Lanka, journalism. In the course of the past few years, the independent media have increasingly come under attack. Electronic and print-media institutions have been burnt, bombed, sealed and coerced. Countless journalists have been harassed, threatened and killed. It has been my honour to belong to all those categories and now especially the last."...more... Street-level air pollution in Asian cities likely worse than thought, and getting worseIs the health of commuters and roadside workers more at risk from air pollutants than has been commonly believed? Yes, it probably is, said Asian, American and Australian scientists who concluded a recent meeting in Bangkok by calling for more research into the effect of air pollution on people commuting, living and working at street level in Asia’s growing cities...more... Experts Mull Framework for North Pacific Regional Cooperation on Energy SecurityHONOLULU (Dec. 18) -- Between them, the nations that surround the North Pacific – China, Japan, Korea, Russia, Canada and the U.S. – include the world’s largest energy consumers and importers, as well as two of its largest producers. While each of these countries has its own interests and agendas, all share the common desire for energy stability and security, from both the supply and demand perspectives...more... |
Spotlight on Alumni
EWC Alumna Ann Dunham— Mother to President Obama and Champion of Women’s Rights and Economic Justice“There is no question that she was ahead of her time,” commented Julia Suryakusuma, Indonesian feminist writer and personal friend of Dunham. “She looked beyond her shores and the choices she made, even the story of her life, attest to it – her cross cultural marriages, her fields of study and work. She was farsighted and strove hard to achieve her goals, including those she had for her children.” At the recent EWC/EWCA International Conference in Bali, Indonesia, many gathered to share personal memories and gain a glimpse into the life and work of an East-West Center legacy – the late EWC alumna S. Ann Dunham (Soetoro). As mother of President-elect Barack Obama, she has become the focus of a great deal of media attention, especially as she had played such an influential role in shaping his world outlook and approach towards problem-solving and service to humanity. In the preface to his memoir, “Dreams From My Father,” he wrote: “I know that she was the kindest, most generous spirit I have ever known, and that what is best in me I owe to her.” Tragically her life was cut short in 1995 due to cancer, but her spirit and determination to champion women's rights and economic justice in Asia continues to serve as a source of inspiration. Dunham, originally from Kansas and proud of her part-Cherokee ancestry, joined the Center’s Technology and Development Institute as a degree fellow grantee in 1973 due to her keen interest in the entrepreneurship program. According to Mendl Djunaidy, Associate Dean of the EWC Education Program, Dunham had a different East-West Center experience, as she lived off-campus with Barack and her daughter Maya, and spent her social time primarily with the Indonesian country group. She pursued her master’s and doctorate degrees in anthropology with a focus on social and economic development in Indonesia. She later went on to publish “Women’s Work in Village Industries on Java” in 1982 and her Ph.D. research culminated in 1992 with a 1,000 page dissertation on “Peasant Blacksmithing in Indonesia : Surviving and Thriving Against All Odds,” which has recently been published in Indonesian as well. ...more FEATURED PUBLICATIONSby Michael G. Plummer with responses by Scot A. Marciel, Kishore Mahbubani, and Chalongphob Sussangkarn Intervention and State-Building in the Pacific: The Legitimacy of 'Cooperative Intervention' by Greg Fry and Tarcisius Tara Kabutaulaka (eds.) Under Foreign Pressure, Chinese Support Their Government by Denny Roy East-West Views Blog
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