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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
How is climate change affecting major Asian cities? — issue #2
Hello there, The issue of climate change continues to provoke heated debates, but how well do we understand the impact it can have on our lives here in Asia? This month, our intern Rayson, looked at research on rising sea levels and mapped a story that shows us a future
Humans of Kontinentalist: Naomi
In this edition of Humans of Kontinentalist, we catch up with Naomi, our resident writer and Myth Buster!
How rock paper scissors is played around Asia
We all know the rules of rock paper scissors (RPS). Paper wins rock, rock wins scissors, and scissors wins paper. There’s even an…
Humans of Kontinentalist: Vinita
Today we caught up with Vinita, our resident editor and writer, and the only actual mother on the team (soft toys, fur babies, and other…
Notes from the Equator — issue #1
Hello there, Welcome to our inaugural issue of ‘notes from the equator’! Kontinentalist has been online for a year now, and we’re delighted to have published more than 30 stories that surprised our audience with little-known facts about Asia. We’ve gotten this far, and thought it’s high
Humans of Kontinentalist: Peiying
In this edition of Humans of Kontinentalist, we sat down with Peiying, the company head and wearer of many hats here at Kontinentalist…
5 Tips for Managing a Social Media Calendar
As the competition for quality content and organic reach continues to get stiffer by the day, things can feel overwhelming, especially…
Humans of Kontinentalist: Kathy Xu
Kathy is our resident mariner and writer at Kontinentalist. She covers marine and environmental topics and her life is very closely…
Humans of Kontinentalist: Phoebe Rollin
In this edition of Humans of Konti, we catch up with Phoebe. Phoebe interned at Kontinentalist for a month from January-February this year…
Getting started with basemap design for map first UI — a non-cartographer’s guide
From apps like Uber and Snapchat, to storytelling platforms like National Geographic’s Geostories, the map has increasingly taken centre…
Storytelling with maps
Recently we were invited by the Data Vis Singapore Meetup group to present our story on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in China. This…
The Road to v1.0 of Kontinentalist’s website
Setting up a website from scratch may be easier than building Rome, but Kontinentalist wasn’t built in a day as well. Our Wayfinder / lead developer Dylan details his journey in making v1.0 happen. When I first joined Kontinentalist, my primary task as the head developer was to set
