The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada Podcast

In this special episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, APF Canada’s Trade and Investment Program Manager Anastasia Ufimtseva chats with Mark Nicol, an Asia-based tech-consultant and Business Development Lead (Asia Pacific, Europe the Middle East and Africa) for Calgary-based Mobiltex Data. Mobiltex develops innovative field and cloud-connected technologies to deliver operational, safety, and ESG b...

In this special episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, APF Canada’s Trade and Investment Program Manager Anastasia Ufimtseva chats with Dr. Gaurav Sharma, co-founder of Shandi Global, a Singapore-based company with Canadian connections. Shandi creates sustainable, affordable, nutritious meat alternatives – or plant-based proteins – with the potential of benefitting millions worldwide. Dr. Sharma –...

The State of Southeast Asia 2024 Survey is the sixth in an annual series of surveys conducted by the ASEAN Studies Centre at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. Based on nearly 2,000 high-value respondents from 10 Southeast Asian economies, the survey’s 72-page summary report captures perceptions of ASEAN, China, the U.S., broader Asia, the EU, and Canada. In this podcast episode, APF Cana...

In this special episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, APF Canada’s Trade and Investment Program Manager Anastasia Ufimtseva chats with two international business leaders active in climate solutions bridging Canada and Asia. Chad Rickaby, Managing Partner at Greentech Asia (Singapore/Vancouver) and CEO of ClimateDoor (Vancouver), explains how Canadian businesses have a unique opportunity to priori...

As 968 million registered voters prepare to cast their ballots in the world’s largest election from April 19 to June 1, APF Canada’s Vice-President Research & Strategy, Vina Nadjibulla, explores the critical dynamics of India’s upcoming elections with Michael Kugelman, Director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., and their implications for stakeholders in Canada a...

2023 Marshall McLuhan Fellow Jodesz Gavilan, an investigative reporter with Rappler, an independent news outlet in the Philippines, discusses the challenges for human rights journalists in her country. In her conversation with APF Canada's Senior Program Manager, Erin Williams, she talks about covering the Duterte administration's 'war on drugs', fractious politics, and creating impactful solution...

From January 29 to February 2, 2024, Canada’s Foreign Interference Commission held preliminary hearings as part of the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions. As APF Canada continues to monitor and provide analysis on this process and its impact and importance for Canadians, our Vice-President Research & Strategy, Vina Nadjibulla, unpack...

In this special edition of Asia Pacific Conversations, Vina Nadjibulla, APF Canada's Vice-President, Research & Strategy, discusses Taiwans 2024 presidential and legislative elections with Dr. Yves Tiberghien. Yves is a Professor of Political Science, Director Emeritus of the Institute of Asian Research, and Co-Director of the Center for Japanese Research at the University B.C. An APF Canada Disti...

At the first anniversary of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS), and recently returned from the Indo-Pacific Strategy Forum in Ottawa on defence and trade engagement with the region, the Foundation’s Vice-President Research & Strategy Vina Nadjibulla discusses the implementation and implications of the ‘generational’ foreign policy codified within the IPS.

In this episode of the Asia Pacific Conversation podcast series, the Foundation’s Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, discusses the highs, lows, surprises, and disappointments following her participation at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Week 2023 in San Francisco November 11-17.

APF Canada President and CEO Jeff Nankivell joins the Foundation's Business Asia Program Manager, Anastasia Ufimtseva, to discuss key findings and takeaways from the latest Investment Monitor 2022 annual report focused solely on research and development (R&D), including what it can tell us about current relations and potential in R&D foreign direct investment collaboration between Canada and the A...

Ranjit Singh, researcher at the AI on the Ground Initiative, Data & Society Research Institute, invites us to reframe our thinking about how technology impacts the globe’s largest populations in the Global South. They, in fact, form the “majority world” rather than a collective remainder in the conceptualization, use, and application of technology. Observing how tech actually affects communities o...

In this episode, Sanjana Hattotuwa, special advisor at ICT4Peace Foundation and research fellow in Dunedin, Aotearoa NZ, prompts us to ask better questions about online content: how does it inform our world view? What values does it advance? And how do we wrest control of it? Drawing the analogy of DJs and clubs, Sanjana breaks down the role of content creators and the platforms that host them, as...

Rasheed Griffith sits down with Elina Noor to outline the technology landscape, competing priorities, and structural constraints in the Caribbean. Cautioning observers to see the Caribbean for what it actually is rather than what we want to see in it, he debunks assumptions about China’s presence and influence in the region through initiatives like the Digital Silk Road. Rasheed is non-resident se...

In this sobering reflection on the continued impact of systemic injustice in the digital age, Sara Cole Stratton argues powerfully for the inclusion of different worldviews and knowledge systems. Her unique perspective of viewing digital tech through a Māori lens is borne of first-hand encounters with racism and the effects of colonial imposition on everyday life and decision-making, from institut...

References: Urs Gasser and Virgilio Almeida, “Futures of Digital Governance,” Communications of the ACM, March 2022, Vol. 65 No. 3, Pages 30-32, https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2022/3/258905-futures-of-digital-governance/fulltext . Beyond the North-South Fork on the Road to AI Governance: An Action Plan for Democratic & Distributive Integrity , https://digitalrights.ai/report/

Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada President & CEO Jeff Nankivell discusses emergent issues and ideas with thought-leaders from across the Asia Pacific in this ongoing podcast series. Asia Pacific Conversations is where conversation meets innovation at the intersection of Canada-Asia relations.

In this episode, Imen Ghedhioui, former advisor to Tunisia’s Ministry of Communication Technologies and Digital Transformation, explains why the intersection between the behavioral sciences and technology is crucial for digital access, inclusion, and integration. She talks about the localization of technology to further those aims, and underscores the importance of agency in interacting with tech...

As one of Southeast Asia’s smaller countries, Cambodia is often overlooked and underrated. Yet, the country’s youth dividend, technological leapfrogging, and economic growth rate over the past decade warrant a closer look at its potential. In outlining Cambodia’s priorities and challenges in the digital space, Siriwat Chhem, Director of the Centre for Inclusive Digital Economy at the Asian Vision...

In this episode, Merih Angin, Assistant Professor at Koç University in Turkey, underscores the criticality of viewing tech holistically. She unpacks why a cross-disciplinary and multi-perspective approach is important, and dives deep into the diversity of tech priorities among various stakeholders in one country - Turkey - alone.

In this episode of Between the Binary, host Elina Noor speaks with Moliehi Makumane, a researcher with the Security and Technology Programme at UNIDIR and a former cyber diplomat. Here, Moliehi prompts us to apply a broader lens to thinking about technology in a development setting: we talk of South Africa’s digital priorities, positioning amid powerful state and industry partners, indigenous inno...

From great power rivalry to gender inclusivity, Fitri Bintang Timur, Researcher, Centre for Strategic and International Studies Indonesia, outlines how Indonesia is navigating its digital priorities amid disruption and decoupling. Fitri reminds that despite the headlines, all challenges are ultimately local and capacity-building efforts must be sensitive to realities on the ground.

In out first episode of the series, Farish Noor, Professor of History at the University of Malaya, sets the scene for thinking about the present-day role and implications of technology by looking back at the relationship between history and technology. Farish traces the trajectory of technology, weaponization, and colonialism; unpacks the link between data and power; and offers some thoughts about...

This episode of Asia Watch: Beyond the Headlines features APF Canada President & CEO Stewart Beck in a conversation with Canada-India Business Council (C-IBC) President & CEO Victor T. Thomas in a discussion about India's terrifying second COVID-19 surge. C-IBC council members have already raised more than C$30 million in donations to the Indian Red Cross and CARE India through their Canadian coun...

In advance of his APF Canada webinar, author and APF Canada Distinguished Fellow Bart Édes discusses strategic foresight, its applications and implications for the COVID-19 pandemic, and what it can tell us about the world of tomorrow.