Social development

Family, children and youth

New generation takes up cudgels against dam construction on Salween River

“When the Salween runs dry and we can cross it, that would be the end of the world,” is a saying widely believed by generations of locals who live on the banks of the river in Mae Hong Son province. In a proactive move, the ...

Thai PBS World

Laos Ranks Lowest in Global English Proficiency Test

The Education First English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) conducts the world’s most expansive ranking of adults by their fluency in English. This year’s index featured 111 countries, Laos ranked the lowest on the list and Netherlands ranked the highest.  The countries were divided into five bands: ...

Amrita Paul

As Laos inches closer to economic default, underage girls face a higher risk of child marriage

Houa* sat on the doorstep of her bamboo house helping her grandmother pluck a chicken. She is not even ten years old, but she is learning how to become a ‘good wife.’ As the Covid pandemic and economic crisis hit the family hard, Houa dropped out ...

BEATRICE SIVIERO

Southeast Asia’s abortion laws reset at the borders

Abortion is a global health issue, impacting individuals and families regardless of ethnicity, income, social status or nationality. Yet there is no worldwide legal standard for the practice of terminating a pregnancy. Lawmakers and governments hold sway over access to abortion, or its abolition. In the ...

BRIAN P. D. HANNON

Harnessing the ASEAN youth’s powers for the environment

In the multiverse theory, there exist alternate realities where we have Earths that are untouched, lush, and teeming with biodiversity. But our reality is we only have one Earth, and on this World Environment Day, we once again contemplate its health and existence to ensure that ...

PM calls for better development, protection of children

Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh has called for joint efforts by all stakeholders to create conditions and opportunities for the better development of children. The premier made the remarks in a message he delivered to mark the International Children’s Day, which falls on June 1. On this occasion, ...

Times Reporters

The Cambodian activists risking their freedom for the environment

Mother Nature is a group made up of young activists attempting to protect Cambodia’s environment from widespread destruction. But the group has increasingly been targeted, with some even jailed for their activism. Thon Ratha and Long Kunthea are passionate, young environmental activists for Mother Nature. They ...

Mech Dara & George Wright

Japan funds environmental awareness, child protection programmes

The Japanese government has provided more than $800,000 in funding to two Japanese NGOs, under its grant assistance framework. The NGOs are engaged in raising awareness of environment issues and eliminating violence against children in schools. The grant contract was signed on March 12 by Japanese ...

Ry Sochan

Vietnam preparing policies for safer cyber environment for children

Vietnam now has around 15 million under-16 children, who are considered the most vulnerable to harmful effects like bullying, attacks, scamming, and even sexual assaults on the cyber environment. Reports from Kaspersky reveal that in Vietnam, the most popular websites to the young under 16 are ...

Ba Tan, Tran Luu – Translated by Thanh Tam

Online child abuse spikes amid pandemic

Vietnamese children face greater risks of sexual abuse with prolonged school closures and online classes exposing them to exploitation via social networks. A month before graduating, Khanh Ngoc, a high school student in Hanoi, received a message from a strange Facebook account. Opening it, she encountered ...

Phan Duong

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