The East Asia Institute (EAI) hosted the 15th Regional Workshop of the Asia Democracy Research Network (ADRN) on May 25 and 26 in Tokyo, Japan. The Institute for Global Governance Research (GGR) at Hitotsubashi University, ADRN's Japanese member institution, co-hosted the workshop, served as a platform for exchange between democracy research institutions from across Asia and government, academic, and civil society actors based on Japan. Member institutions participating in vertical accountability research project presented their findings, and institutions conducting democratic civic education programs in their countries introduced the outcomes. Special sessions also held on international network by activists to restore democracy in Asian regions such as Hong Kong and Myanmar, as well as the impact of authoritarian narratives and disinformation on democracy and how to counter it.

Participants

ADRN Members

Ahmed Bilal Mehboob (Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency, Pakistan)

Francisco Magno (La Salle Institute of Governance, Philippines)

Ganbat Damba (Academy of Political Education, Mongolia)

Hideko Katsumata (Japan Ceneter for International Exchange, Japan)

Jung Kim (EAI; University of North Korean Studies, South Korea)

Kaustuv Bandyopadhyay (Participatory Research in Asia, India)

Maiko Ichihara (Institute for Global Governance Research, Hitotsubashi University, Japan)

Mardi Mapa-Suplido (International Center for Innovation, Transformation and Excellence in Governance, Philippines)

Niranjan Sahoo (Observer Research Foundation, India)

Osbern Huang (Asian Barometer, Taiwan)

Sook Jong Lee (EAI, South Korea)

Sri Nuryanti (National Research and Innovation Agency, Indonesia)

Sunkyoung Park (EAI; Korea University, South Korea)

Tamir Chultemsuren (Independent Research Institute of Mongolia, Mongolia)

Thawilwadee Bureekul (King Prajadhipok’s Institute, Thailand)

Ujjwal Sundas (Samata Foundation, Nepal)

Cooperating Organizations and Outside Experts

Arild Bergh (Norwegian Defence Research Establishment)

Classroom Adventure Team (Noa Horiguchi, Hinata Furukata, Zentaro Imai)

Hiroyuki Ohta (National Defense Medical College)

Ichal Supriadi (Asia Democracy Network)

Lynn Lee (National Endowment for Democracy)

Patrick Poon (University of Tokyo; Asian Lawyers Network; Lady Liberty Hong Kong)

Sascha Hannig (Institute for Global Governance Research, Hitotsubashi University)

Saw Ba Hla Thein (NUG Representative to Japan)

Shiori Kanno (former member of the House of Representatives, Democratic Party for the People)

Tetsuro Kobayashi (Waseda University)

Toru Kubota (Docu Athan)

Project Coordinator

Hansu Park (East Asia Institute, South Korea) 

Program

Saturday, May 25

10:00 – 10:15   Opening 

10:15 – 12:00   ADRN Workshop Session One
"Country Cases of Vertical Accountability (1)"

12:15 – 13:15   Working Lunch Session
"Lessons to Learn from Civic Education Programs"

13:30 – 15:15   ADRN Workshop Session Two
"Country Cases of Vertical Accountability (2)"

15:15 – 16:15   ADRN Workshop Session Three
"Policy Implications and Regional Approaches to Promote Vertical Accountability"

16:30 – 18:00   ADRN Workshop Session Four
"Asian Network of Democracy Activists: Expanding the Milk Tea Alliance"

18:00 – 20:00 Working Dinner Session
"Japanese Legislators and Democracy Support in Asia"

Sunday, May 26

9:30 – 11:15   ADRN Workshop Session Five
"How to Bring Disinformation Research into Practice"

11:30 – 13:30   Working Lunch Session
"How to Bring Narrative Research into Practice"

13:30 – 14:30   Housekeeping