As societies become increasingly digital how do we ensure that they are socially just and inclusive too? What implications do emergent tech and rapid development hold upon less or newly connected communities at large? What role does data sovereignty and data governance play?

In this first session of our Innovation Community of Practice Edge Week 1 we will learn from Pyrou Chung, Director of the Open Development Initiative (ODI), a project of the East West Management Institute (EWMI). She brings deep partitioning experience that anchors the above provocations most essential for this meaningful conversation. In this session Pyrou will share how the ODI is piloting and pushing to expand research and development into data sovereignty approaches, especially in terms of research, tools and infrastructure.

About Pyrou Chung
Pyrou directs the East West Management Institute’s programs on natural resource, land and data initiatives in Southeast Asia under the Open Development Initiative. As an ecologist and sustainable development expert, her work has been focused on the nexus between environmental governance, conservation and human rights, with an emphasis on implementing integrated biodiversity, natural resource management and land rights initiatives with indigenous, forest dependent or rural communities. More recently this work has intersected with the open data movement to utilise GIS data and information in an open data platform, Open Development Mekong, which promotes evidence-based decision making, digital gender inclusion and Indigenous Data Sovereignty. The platform is a one of a kind open data portal in Southeast Asia focused upon the Lower Mekong Countries — Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. ODI co-chairs the Open Data for Development AsiaHub along with Sinar Project.

How do we navigate complexity in the context of development? Are today's public sector responses to society's entrenched challenges sufficient? What is Alternative Development and Alternative Regionalism, and how might it play a role in positive systems change?

In this session we will learn from Karl Arvin F. Hapal, MCD Assistant Professor, University of the Philippines College of Social Work and Community Development. He has been a steady hand at convening, researching and cross pollinating Alternative Development (AltDev) practices, particularly in the content of Asia. In this sense, (AltDev) aims to systematically look at paradigms, policies, practices, and projects that are largely marginalized and excluded from the mainstream. As they challenge dominant modes, they often are not prominently positioned in the national and international discourse. Karl's work has been focused on bringing these alternatives out of the margins and into the mainstream.

This session will kick off by sharing interesting examples of alternative development practices, illustrated by examples from across Southeast Asia, and reflected as cases in the Alternative Regionalism Collection here. The second half of the session will highlight, despite the immense challenges brought by the current pandemic, the ways in which community initiatives in the Philippines context have been effective. Karl will share how peoples’ organizations and movements are capable albeit largely untapped champions in the fight against COVID-19 and mitigating its adverse socio-economic effects.

About Karl Hapal
Karl Hapal is an assistant professor in the College of Social Work and Community Development, University of the Philippines. Concurrently, he is also the Co-convenor of the Program on Alternative Development (AltDev), Center for Integrative and Development Studies. AltDev’s main goal is to surface grassroots experiences in pursuing development outside of mainstream constructs.