Under the warm glow of the afternoon sun streaming through the window at the University of the Philippines BGC Campus in Manila, I found myself immersed in a vibrant scene. Around me, participants were busy crafting Wayang figures from discarded plastic packaging. Laughter and the sounds of creativity filled the air, creating an inspiring atmosphere […]
Civic Space Under Pressure: The Mazari-Chattha Case and Pakistan’s Digital Rights Standoff
A previous piece in this series examined the prosecution of human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, advocate Hadi Ali Chattha. It argued that cybercrime laws can be used against political speech. Since then, the case has grown into a long back-and-forth between civil society and the state. That exchange is worth reading […]
Reflections from NetMission Ambassador’s APIGA 2026 Journey: From Being in the Room to Shaping the Room
Some opportunities teach you. Some change you. And a few bring you back to where it all began. For me, the Asia Pacific Internet Governance Academy (APIGA) was one of those places. After graduating from NetMission as an Ambassador, APIGA became one of my first onsite spaces to explore Internet governance more deeply. In 2024, […]
Reflections from NetMission Ambassador’s APIGA 2026 Journey: The Room That Gave Me the Mic
Turns out “youth leader” is just code for endless Google Docs and hoping nobody notices how new you actually are to all of this. What people don’t know is that a couple of years ago, the mention of the word “presentation” was enough to make my legs shake under the table. Somewhere between moderating my […]
Brokering Trust in Tumultuous Tech Tides
Insularity. The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer has, for the first time in over a quarter of a century, coined trust worldwide has retreated to this psychological state that is shaped by fears and crises. 70% of 33,938 individuals across 28 countries expressed hesitancy and unwillingness to trust persons with a different way of life at […]