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!
Our connected futures — issue #73
Our climates and futures are linked across borders to one another. From the turbulent climate crisis rocking Southeast Asia to the data centre boom reshaping our world, we are reminded that our connections are not a choice, and that no one is spared from our rapidly changing world.
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
Unearthing the age-old wisdom of Asia’s traditional architecture
Our latest piece on traditional architecture in Asia highlights the local knowledge and vernacular methods that once shaped how people built their homes. In their process of telling this story, our writer Zafirah Zein and designer Munirah Mansoor uncover a wealth of forgotten wisdom and contemporary research on building sustainably
🌏 Dataviz in Asia (August’ 23)
Who said data can't be a blast for teens? In this month’s Dataviz in Asia, we’re exploring how people are making data exciting for young people and breaking language barriers to boot! We’re always on the lookout for folks who are putting their own spin
Reimagining kinship in a culture of convenience — issue #45
Recently I was sitting in an alleyway in George Town, Penang, that smelled gloriously of roasted coffee beans and charcoal-toasted bread. My husband remarked how happy he was to see young people working there, and expressed hope that this streetside stall would stand the test of time (and that we
Painting a picture of Jakarta’s roadside food sellers
Arran Ridley and Griselda Gabriele share more about our recent story, Jakarta’s roadside food sellers: Finding a path in a future of convenience. Arran, a freelance writer and researcher, pitched the idea to Kontinentalist, based on his interest in kaki lima sellers, the community of street food vendors in
Prompts Ep #1: What does community mean to you?
In this first episode of Prompts, we bring together some of the team’s newer members to make sense of their relationship with the Kontinentalist team and other communities they are part of. SAMIRA joined Kontinentalist as the team’s first Community and Digital Marketing Manager in August 2022. MAN
It's the era of community-centred journalism
For a long time, journalism was often pictured as a solo endeavor. The mention of the word “journalist” may conjure up an image of a solitary writer squinting at a screen in a dark room, typing furiously on their laptop to churn out the next ground-breaking piece. To some extent,
🌏 Dataviz in Asia (July’ 23)
Who’s who in politics, and what are their relationships? In this month’s Dataviz in Asia, we look at how different publications are visualising the often intricate political networks in Asia. Last October, Bloomberg did an amazing interactive on how Xi Jinping rewrote China’s rulebook to build the
When was the last time we touched grass? — issue #44
I’ve been thinking about what it means to return to the land. This was sparked after we published our recent story on land reclamation. To promote it, I posted about it on Instagram, which was when my cousin noted how apt it was that I had written the story
Kawan is here!
After months of working on this baby, we’re finally ready to share it with the world. If you’re not already caught up, Kawan is our new membership-based community! Meaning friend in Bahasa Melayu and Bahasa Indonesia, it symbolises our mutual desire for a closer connection, and what you,
Meet the Community: Irma Garnesia
Thank you for making time to have this little chat with me, Irma. First things first—how has life been like as a "recovering fact checker", as you mentioned in your LinkedIn post? (laughs) Thank you for having me, Angel. I’ve been transitioning through jobs—I moved
Making a map of land reclamation in Singapore
How familiar are you with the shape of the land(s) you call home? On the map, most of us identify Singapore as a little red dot, or a diamond at closer view. In our recent story on sand mining and land reclamation, we created a map to examine the
🌏 Dataviz in Asia: June' 23
The Society of News Design’s Best of Digital Design 2022 results are out! The largely US-centric awards tend to be dominated by the likes of New York Times and Washington Post, but here are some of our favorites from Asia-based publications that bagged big prizes: * Asahi Shimbun published a