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Welcome to Kawan—our vibrant community of data heads and storytellers. We’re all about improving data literacy and sharing nuanced stories about Asia. Come hang!
silver linings — issue #61
A couple of weeks ago, I moved to Dunedin, New Zealand, or Aotearoa, as it is beloved in Māori, to pursue a Master’s degree in Geographic Information Systems. I had to transfer at the Auckland International Airport, where I went through a few rounds of biosecurity checks. Before you
Countering climate doom
When we decided on “silver lining” as the theme of our latest newsletter, I thought it apt to highlight positive stories about the environment to counter the deluge of bleak, and at times terrifying climate news. Yet, while I was keen to find data or visual stories on positive climate
My grandma does decolonial work — issue #60
What can we build with our real and righteous rage? — Pooja Nansi, The Feelings of Brown People: A Radio Dedication Show with a Forever Engaged Hotline In our October issue, Peiying wrote about how we formed a reading club around coloniality, knowledge, and being. In these sessions, we discussed the
How might we visualise the Ethnic Integration Policy quota in a HDB block to help people understand how it works?
Singapore’s Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) allocates quotas in public housing blocks based on ethnicity. In our final longform piece of 2024, we examined the EIP and its impact on homeowners, particularly those from minority ethnic groups. In this process, we created interactive visuals to help explain the EIP. In
Have you eaten yet? That is to say, how are you? — issue #59
Have you eaten yet? That is to say, how are you? In Thailand, you may hear people greet each other with “กินอะไรหรือยัง? (kin khao reu yang?)”, meaning “Have you eaten rice yet?” It demonstrates how essential rice is to life in Thai culture, where it is equated
Unlearning what we know — issue #58
“I have learned the names of all the bushes, but I have yet to learn their songs.” These past months, the Kontinentalist team has been deep in learning and reflection. We started our “Decolonial Reading Club”: bi-monthly sessions breaking down coloniality, knowledge, and being. This quote from Braiding Sweetgrass, recounting
On Palestine: Covering culture in a time of genocide
What does Gaza require from those who bear witness? The team behind our latest story on Palestine shares their process, thoughts, and feelings while highlighting the beauty of life in Gaza amid the profound loss of Palestinian heritage and cultural identity. Zafirah (Writer): I came across an Instagram post by
Don’t call us the underdogs — issue #57
2022, Doha Airport. I am catching a flight back to Singapore, but there are other pressing matters in the transit area. Morocco is playing Portugal for a spot in the World Cup semi-finals, and is one goal up at the 90th minute. Behind me, an Arab auntie is saying a
Sports is political: An analysis of power and bias in global sports
Munirah and Zafirah, who worked on the microstory Rise of the Underdogs: How Asia left its mark on the 2022 FIFA World Cup, reflect on how the Olympics is colonial by design. Beatrice Go, the writer behind SEA Games: A stage of unity or power play, joins them to take
My first time in Singapore: Seeing Asia anew
When I decided to move from China to the United States for college, I could never have guessed that I would end up working and living in Singapore for four months. For many Chinese international students in the US like me, our perception of the world is often limited to
The art of abundance — issue #56
I’ve been thinking a lot about what Pei Ying wrote in our last newsletter on refusal. These thoughts come on the back of growing research on the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the environment: a search on ChatGPT consumes 25 times more energy than a Google search, and
Behind the Seams: Wax & Stitch Workshop
How the idea started At Kontinentalist, most people know us because of our stories, but we’ve always been interested in making data more approachable and relatable to people’s daily lives. So it was serendipitous when we met Hafiz Rashid, an experienced museum docent and self-proclaimed “Nusantara otaku” at
The Global South, AI, and journalism
“I’m a sceptic.” I declared this to a room full of media practitioners who had come to listen to a panel about AI and journalism. I heard a few nervous titters, spotted some smiles. But I also sensed a collective metaphorical groaning, and imagined a few people internally rolling
What is the point of education if it cannot stop suffering? — issue #55
Apologies: We accidentally sent a test version of our latest issue. Please ignore the previous email and continue reading to enjoy this month's reads! It’s the end of May and spring is in full swing. I’ve just completed my second term at the University of Edinburgh,
