LIRNEasia

12/06/2026

𝗟𝗜𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗮’𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗚𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗸𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻

We are pleased to see the Government of Pakistan taking an important step toward strengthening data governance and public-sector transparency through the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication’s Request for Proposals (RFP) for the “Design, Development, Implementation and Support of the National Open Data Ecosystem (NODE).” Initiatives such as NODE have the potential to significantly improve interoperability across government institutions, enhance access to public data, and support more evidence-based policymaking and service delivery.

It is encouraging to see long-standing discussions around data governance translating into concrete policy action. This is an area that LIRNEasia Senior Policy Fellow in Pakistan, Muhammad Aslam Hayat, has consistently advocated for through our work on data governance, interoperability, and open data frameworks in Pakistan.

We are happy to see these recommendations gaining traction and are proud to contribute to Pakistan’s evolving national conversation on accountable and inclusive data governance.

Learn more about LIRNEasia’s data governance work in Pakistan: https://lirneasia.net/2026/05/lirneasias-data-governance-research-gains-policy-traction-in-pakistan/

28/05/2026

இலங்கை தனது செயற்கை நுண்ணறிவு (AI) இலக்குகளை விரைவுபடுத்தி வரும் நிலையில், ஒரு முக்கியமான கேள்வி இந்த உரையாடலின் மையத்தில் உள்ளது. இந்த முறைமைக்கு எந்தத் தரவுகள் ஆற்றல் அளிக்கும், மேலும் அவை எவ்வாறு நிர்வகிக்கப்படும்?

வீரகேசரி (virakesari.lk) நாளிதழில் சமீபத்தில் வெளியான ஒரு கட்டுரையில், LIRNEasia நிறுவனத்தின் ஆய்வாளர் அஸ்வினி நடேசன், அரசாங்கத்தின் வலுவான தரவு ஆளுகையில் செயற்கை நுண்ணறிவு வளர்ச்சியை நிலைநிறுத்துவதன் முக்கியத்துவத்தைப் பற்றி விவாதித்தார். மேம்பட்ட நெறிமுறைகள் மற்றும் செயற்கை நுண்ணறிவுப் பயன்பாடுகளுக்குக் கவனத்தை செலுத்துவதற்கு முன்பு, தரவுகள் எவ்வாறு சேகரிக்கப்படுகின்றன, பகிரப்படுகின்றன, கட்டமைக்கப்படுகின்றன மற்றும் பாதுகாக்கப்படுகின்றன என்பதில் கவனம் செலுத்தி, இலங்கை சீரான மற்றும் நம்பகமான தரவு ஆளுகை அடித்தளத்தை உருவாக்க வேண்டும் என்று அவர் குறிப்பிடுகிறார்.

இலங்கையில் கொள்கைக் கட்டமைப்புகளுக்குப் பற்றாக்குறை இல்லை என்று அவர் வலியுறுத்துகிறார். மாறாக, தற்போதுள்ள தரவு ஆளுகைக் கொள்கைகள் மற்றும் நடைமுறைகளை மறுஆய்வு செய்து வலுப்படுத்துவதே தேவைப்படுகிறது. தரவு ஆளுகைக்கான ஒரு சீரான தேசிய அணுகுமுறை, செயற்கை நுண்ணறிவு வளர்ச்சிக்கு ஆதரவளிப்பது மட்டுமல்லாமல், பொதுமக்களின் நம்பிக்கையையும் வலுப்படுத்தும் என்று அவர் அடிக்கோடிட்டுக் காட்டுகிறார்.

முழு கட்டுரையையும் வீரகேசரி (Virakesari) யில்: https://www.virakesari.lk/article/244583

28/05/2026

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව, තම කෘත්‍රිම බුද්ධි (AI) අභිලාෂයන් ප්‍රවර්ධනය කිරීම සඳහා ඇති උනන්දුව වේගවත් කරන විට, මෙම සංවාදයේ කේන්ද්‍රය වශයෙන් වැදගත් ප්‍රශ්නයක් මතුවෙයි. එනම්, මෙම පද්ධති ක්‍රියාත්මක වන්නේ කුමන දත්ත මතද සහ එම දත්ත පාලනය කරන්නේ කෙසේද යන්නයි.

Lankadeepa - ලංකාදීප හි ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කරන ලද ලිපියක, ලර්න්ඒෂියා පර්යේෂණ සාමාජිකා (Research Fellow) අශ්විනි නටේසන් විසින් AI සංවර්ධනයේ පදනම ලෙස ශක්තිමත් දත්ත පාලනයක වැදගත්කම පිළිබඳව සාකච්ඡා කරයි. සංකීර්ණ ඇල්ගොරිතම සහ AI යෙදුම් වෙත අවධානය යොමු කිරීමට පෙර, ශ්‍රී ලංකාව මුලින්ම දත්ත රැස් කිරීම, හුවමාරු කිරීම, ව්‍යුහගත කිරීම සහ ආරක්ෂා කිරීම සඳහා සුසංයෝගී හා විශ්වාසදායක දත්ත පාලන පදනමක් ගොඩනැගීම කෙරෙහි අවධානය යොමු කළ යුතු බව ඇය අවධාරණය කරයි.

මේ සඳහා නව ප්‍රතිපත්ති රාමු නිර්මාණය කිරීමට වඩා, පවතින දත්ත පාලන ප්‍රතිපත්ති සහ ක්‍රියා පටිපාටි සමාලෝචනය කර ශක්තිමත් කිරීම වැදගත් බවද ඇය පෙන්වා දෙයි. දත්ත පාලනය සඳහා සුසංයෝගී ජාතික ප්‍රවේශයක් මගින් AI සංවර්ධනයට සහාය වීම පමණක් නොව, මහජන විශ්වාසයද ශක්තිමත් කළ හැකි බව ඇය අවධාරණය කරයි.

සම්පුර්ණ ලිපිය කියවන්න: https://tinyurl.com/3zba9c3h

27/05/2026

In an op-ed published in The Jakarta Post, Ryan Eka P. Sakti and Ibrahim K. Rohman, PhD (country researchers for the Indonesia component of LIRNEasia’s D4D project), draw from the policy dialogue on “Indonesia’s Strategy for Safeguarding Cross-Border Personal Data Transfers to the United States Without Compromising Sovereignty or Data Protection” held on 28 October 2025. They note that the emerging Indonesia–US digital trade framework may further increase cross-border data flows, raising a key question: when data moves freely across borders, who truly captures its value?

Read the full article on The Jakarta Post: https://www.thejakartapost.com/opinion/2026/03/25/data-flows-out-value-flows-away-indonesias-digital-trade-paradox.html

Learn more about the event: https://lirneasia.net/2025/11/indonesia-report-launch-and-policy-dialogue-on-data-governance/

22/05/2026

Social insurance for gig workers in Bangladesh

Behind every tap is a gig worker at your fingertips, ready to provide a ride or deliver everyday essentials. However, a gig worker’s protection often begins and ends within the app, leaving them completely vulnerable to risks the moment they go offline. This research by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) examines global lessons on legal recognition for gig workers, protection systems across platforms, and shared financing to explore pathways for expanding social security coverage for gig workers in Bangladesh.

This project is one of seven research projects guided by LIRNEasia under the second grant cycle of the FutureWORKS Asia initiative, part of the FutureWORKS Collective. It is a global effort supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC / CRDI) that aims to build inclusive work futures across the Global South.

20/05/2026

𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿-𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗿𝗶 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗮

Renewable energy in Sri Lanka is expanding, notably through new wind and solar projects, promising a more secure future. Yet rural women and historically marginalized communities often remain invisible in energy planning and energy access decision-making. This study by the Women and Media Collective (WMC) examines how large-scale energy projects impact women’s labour, livelihoods, security, and autonomy, focusing on Mannar and Monaragala, two key sites in Sri Lanka’s energy transition.

This project is one of seven research projects guided by LIRNEasia under the second grant cycle of the FutureWORKS Asia initiative, part of the FutureWORKS Collective. It is a global effort supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC / CRDI) that aims to build inclusive work futures across the Global South. Stay tuned to learn more about the other grantee projects.

18/05/2026

𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗹’𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿

Across Nepal, many government-led social protection programs exist, yet the people who need them most are often left out. This project by the Nepal Development Research Institute (NDRI) examines the barriers women in Nepal’s agriculture sector face in accessing social protection programs, with particular attention to financial exclusion, limited awareness, and unpaid care burdens.

This project is one of seven research projects guided by LIRNEasia under the second grant cycle of the FutureWORKS Asia initiative, part of the FutureWORKS Collective. It is a global effort supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC / CRDI) that aims to build inclusive work futures across the Global South. Stay tuned to learn more about the other grantee projects.

18/05/2026

After three years of collaborative research and engagement, the Resisting Information Disorders in the Global South project has culminated in the publication of ‘Information Disorder and Resilience in the Global South: Structural Drivers, Governance, Media Literacy, and Fact-Checking’.

Led by the Centre for Information Integrity in Africa (CINIA - Africa) at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, and funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC / CRDI), the report brings together evidence from Africa, the MENA region, Asia, and Latin America to examine the structural drivers of information disorder and their regulatory strategies. The publication includes contributions from LIRNEasia, InternetLab, Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism, Research ICT Africa, and ARIJ.

LIRNEasia contributed Chapter 4 of the publication, ‘Empowering Children Against Misinformation: A Review of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Interventions in Sri Lanka’, authored by Isuru Samaratunga, Research Manager at LIRNEasia, and Helani Galpaya, CEO of LIRNEasia.

The chapter explores how Media and Information Literacy (MIL) programmes can strengthen children’s ability to recognise and resist misinformation. It uses a MIL initiative by Sarvodaya-Fusion as a case study, focusing on how it equipped children with the skills to navigate the digital environment safely, ethically, and responsibly. The year-long data collection followed children across three districts in Sri Lanka, tracking not only what they learned from the programme, but also what they retained and applied months later.

Full report is available on the LIRNEasia website: https://lirneasia.net/2026/05/empowering-children-against-misinformation-a-review-of-mil-interventions-in-sri-lanka/

Learn more about the research: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1B9swhzMHD/

15/05/2026

𝗛𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗵’𝘀 𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿

Rising global temperatures are not just an environmental issue, they are also a workplace crisis. Extreme heat events pose an urgent threat to the health, well-being, and incomes of vulnerable low-income populations. This research by Good Business Lab (GBL) examines how daily heat stress affects workers’ health and its implications for attendance, wages, and job losses among garment factory workers in India and Bangladesh.

This project is one of seven research projects guided by LIRNEasia under the second grant cycle of the FutureWORKS Asia initiative, part of the FutureWORKS Collective. It is a global effort supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC / CRDI) that aims to build inclusive work futures across the Global South. Stay tuned to learn more about the other grantee projects.

14/05/2026

𝗡𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲: 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗻𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀

Women in Global Health Philippines (WGH) and the Alliance of Health Workers Organizations (AIHO), grantees of the FutureWORKS Asia initiative — part of the FutureWORKS Collective, a global effort supported by the International Development Research Centre, Canada (IDRC / CRDI) — are organising the webinar “Nursing at the Frontline of Change” in celebration of International Nurses Day.

The webinar will explore how digital disruption and climate-related challenges are reshaping healthcare systems and transforming the experiences of nurses and frontline health workers.

For more details and to sign up – https://bit.ly/FrontlineofChangeregister

Nursing work is evolving.

Today’s nurses are navigating a healthcare landscape shaped by AI, digital transformation, climate stress, migration, and rapidly changing workforce demands. The future of care is no longer confined to the bedside — and understanding these shifts is critical for healthcare systems, educators, policymakers, and frontline professionals alike.

Join us for:
🔹 Nursing at the Frontline of Change: Digital Disruption, Climate Stress, and the Future of Nursing Work

This upcoming webinar is grounded in an interdisciplinary study conducted by WGH-Philippines, 101 Health Research, AIHO, NAPHNI, and FutureWorks Asia (Sri Lanka), with support from IDRC Canada.

As part of this collaboration, 101 Health Research contributed the AI-enabled digital social research component, including large-scale analysis of thousands of nursing job posts in 2025 to better understand emerging workforce trends, digital competencies, and the changing realities of nursing employment.

📅 May 21, 2026
🕘 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
💻 Online via Zoom

Register via QR Code or visit:
🔗 https://bit.ly/FrontlineofChangeregister