Hey! 👋
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
What is an ‘Asian’ perspective
At Kontinentalist, we often describe ourselves as an Asian-focused editorial studio that strives to present an ‘Asian’ perspective to our…
All I want for Christmas is a...scratchable map? — issue #6
It's the most wonderful time of the year! I’ve just spent the past 2 months sojourning in Japan for a leadership training programme, and it’s so wonderful to return to Singapore during the festive period. There’s something magical about December, and it has always been
Inktober Journal
As Inktober 2019 draws to a close, our resident animator Griselda walks us through her #Inktober illustrations and the quirky stories that…
A day in the life of a programmer at a startup
Hi, I’m Dylan, the lead developer at Kontinentalist. So as a developer, people often think that my work entails sitting in front of my computer all day, with 1s and 0s filling my screen. They are wrong. I have three screens! 😉 Today, I’ll walk you through a typical
What does partnership work entail?
When I first sat down with Bella, our Medium editor, to talk about what sort of articles I could contribute, Bella suggested something…
Where got ghost in Singapore?— issue #5
Trick or treat! It's Halloween season! The ghouls and pumpkins fill store aisles across Singapore. But Southeast Asia has about as many ghouls as we have tropical fruits and types of spices. We're diverse like that. So step away from the usual stories and explore our
Humans of Kontinentalist: Rayson
A few weeks ago we caught up with Rayson, our summer intern. Rayson is a third-year university student studying for a Bachelor in…
A quick guide to ArcGIS — how do we begin?
What is GIS?
Humans of Kontinentalist: Dewi
Today we caught up with Dewi, our business development manager, and recently, writer! Her first story on Batik was released last week.
Did a four-eyed historian invent the Mandarin script? — issue #4
Hello，你好，வணக்கம் Singapore has always favoured linguistic pragmatism, where we learn a language for its utility. Increasingly, that language is Mandarin. People often tell me, "You should let your child take Mandarin as a second language. It's better for her." No offence is intended
Rayson’s Journey to the Maps: Interning at Kontinentalist
Rayson, who wrote this well-received story on rising sea levels, shares his intern experience at Kontinentalist.
Reduce API loading time: Never forget to Cache!
Kontinentalist serves quite numbers of traffic everyday, and thus user experience is really important for us. One of the UX factors apart… How did Kontinentalist reduce API loading time by using Cache
