Kontinentalist

31/07/2024

Urban spaces are often designed in a way that excludes marginalised communities. Participatory urban planning projects are one of the solutions to this issue, by opening up a space for people with diverse experiences to give their input on how they want their city to be designed.

In this episode, we share two successful participatory urban planning projects from Singapore and Surakarta, Indonesia.

15/07/2024

As artificial intelligence transforms the world at breakneck speed and humanity grapples with our relationship with technology, we turn the spotlight on our fundamental relationship with nature, and the slow intentionality behind Asia’s traditional handicrafts.

19/06/2024

It’s hot girl summer, Kontinentalist style! ☀️ We’ve got a lineup of amazing events planned over the next few months, and we’d love for you to join us.

Swipe to see what’ve been up to and more of what’s to come. Get your tickets through the link in our bio. ⬆️

13/06/2024

Save the date: Saturday, 22 June! 🗓️

Reserve your favourite batik pieces and join us for our very first special Kawan event, done in collaboration with Hafiz Rashid, where we will celebrate the rich history of batik and sarongs. Swipe to find out how to get your tickets ➡️

07/06/2024

What does getting formally educated mean, if it doesn’t make us more compassionate, curious, and courageous? In this issue of notes from the equator, we reflect on the failures of institutions and the role of education in nurturing responsibility towards people and the planet.

For more stories from Asia, subscribe to our newsletter and join our Kawan community. Click the link in bio to find out more.

-

27/05/2024

How do we give citizens a sense of ownership over their cities?

Participatory urban planning does this by involving them in the city’s decision-making process. In this episode, we take a look at examples of how this practice has been successfully implemented.

25/04/2024

When does one year end and another begin? In Asia, there are multiple new years, and they aren’t all on 1st January. In this story, we explore the various new year celebrations in Asia and trace them to the calendars they’re based on. The Gregorian calendar may be what most of us follow, but there is a lot more richness to uncover. More than a system of measurement, calendars shed light on how people think of and perceive their place in the world.

-

28/03/2024

Coming of age can be painful, hilarious and downright awkward. In honour of international women’s month, this month’s issue of notes from the equator reflects on what it’s like to be a girl, and acknowledges the various rites of passage that usher girls into womanhood. We also highlight the challenges that women in Asia still face in achieving equality, representation, and access to basic needs.

For more stuff on gender, subscribe to our newsletter and join our Kawan community. Click the link in bio to find out more.

19/03/2024

Ever wondered why it is easier to navigate some cities compared to others?

To plan an effective city, it’s important to understand what kind of experiences and emotions its residents go through. In this episode, we talk about a powerful tool we can use to gather this data: mental mapping.

08/03/2024

Happy International Women’s Day! Here at Kontinentalist, we’re reflecting on our approach to writing stories about communities that are underrepresented and our ongoing mission to decolonise narratives about Asia. Swipe to hear from our team on how we’re weaving gender perspectives into our stories and company culture.

29/02/2024

Is romance dead, or does love just look different now? In a world of dating apps and digital distractions, opportunities to find love are abundant. Yet the idea of true love still feels elusive, perhaps due to the fact that its definition and parameters are constantly evolving, influencing and being influenced by education and policy.

In this month’s issue of notes from the equator, we contemplate the meaning of love in modern times, and share an inside look at our latest microstory on s*x education in Singapore.

✨ https://kawan.kontinentalist.com ✨

-

28/02/2024

These iconic lyrics from Salt-N-Pepa’s ‘90s hit might be a moment for some, but in Singapore’s context they hit on something that remains relevant, national conversations about s*x. This can be seen in public debates over our s*x ed curriculum. Swipe to read more about how s*x ed has evolved over the years, according to newspaper articles.

This story is made in collaboration with The Gender Beat, a collective of journalists committed to amplifying gender journalism. It is part of ‘ ’, a series of stories highlighting the state of s*x education from newsrooms around the world .in

05/02/2024

In Balochistan, victims who are forcibly disappeared almost never reunite with their loved ones or achieve justice. Left to navigate Pakistan’s complex criminal justice system and abuse of power among law enforcement officials, their families end up facing human rights violations themselves.

With the odds stacked against them, how can those affected navigate the legal system to seek recourse and justice?

Find out more in the full story:
https://kontinentalist.com/stories/no-justice-for-balochistan-enforced-disappearances

05/02/2024

In Balochistan, victims who are forcibly disappeared almost never reunite with their loved ones or achieve justice. Left to navigate Pakistan’s complex criminal justice system and abuse of power among law enforcement officials, their families end up facing human rights violations themselves.

With the odds stacked against them, how can those affected navigate the legal system to seek recourse and justice?

Find out more in the full story:
https://kontinentalist.com/stories/no-justice-for-balochistan-enforced-disappearances

02/02/2024

Throwing it back with Part 2 of our data portrait series! Remember those "cool" desserts some of you whipped up at our booth at the Independent Media Fair last year, hosted by Singapore Unbound and Mekong Review? We asked you for your thoughts on the state of independent media in Singapore. Swipe left to see your sweet/spicy takes!

31/01/2024

In this age of convenience, how much discomfort are we willing to endure in the face of strikes, protests, and boycotts? For this month’s issue of notes from the equator, we explore the rich landscape of civic action here in Asia, past and present. We take a look at the things that make us sit up, pay attention, and refuse to stay idle in the face of grave injustices.

For more stuff on civic action in Asia, subscribe to our newsletter and join our Kawan community! 👇
https://kawan.kontinentalist.com

-

30/01/2024

In Balochistan, where there are long-standing tensions between the Pakistani government and the Baloch population, countless people are forcibly disappeared by military and state agents every day.

Enforced disappearances was used as a tool in N**i Germany, and persists today to quash resistance movements and repress entire populations in places like Palestine, Bangladesh and Mexico. Despite its widespread occurrence, this issue is often underreported, and many perpetrators escape justice, leaving thousands of missing people never found.

Read our latest story to learn more about the ongoing conflict in Balochistan, and the difficulties that victims of enforced disappearances, as well as their families, face in securing justice.
https://kontinentalist.com/stories/no-justice-for-balochistan-enforced-disappearances

23/01/2024

Calling all communications professionals, digital marketers, journalists, researchers, changemakers, and data enthusiasts! Elevate your storytelling game using impactful data visualisations at our 2024 public data storytelling workshops, with both in-person and virtual options available to cater to your learning needs.

Don't miss the first in-person workshop on March 14-15—sign up for tickets here.

Tell data-driven stories that move people.

23/01/2024

🥳 If you're looking to transform your data into captivating stories, boy, do we have news for you! Our data storytelling workshops are back, with in-person and virtual options available across the year! Don't miss out on the first round of our in-person workshop happening on March 14-15. Limited tickets available, so grab yours now. Link in bio.

See y’all there!

11/01/2024

We're ! Join our team as an Editorial and Marketing Intern! 🖋️📈 We're seeking someone to support our editorial and marketing teams in research, data work, and marketing efforts. If you're passionate about data storytelling and have a strong initiative to work and learn independently, this might be for you!

Location: Singapore
Duration: 3-6 months

Apply by January 24th.

Passionate about amplifying Asian voices through data-driven visual stories? Join our motley crew of storytellers, engineers, and designers! Apply for a Editorial and Marketing Intern position now!

11/01/2024

We were alerted by a reader about missing data points in Bishan in our recent map of HDB leases and prices. Upon checking, we realised the data points were accidentally omitted in the final map, and have posted the updated map above to show the correct version. We apologise for the error, and would like to highlight that the information was correct at the source.

As with all our work, we strive to research and fact-check all details to the best of our abilities. But sometimes errors do occur.

We appreciate and invite our readers to let us know if they spot mistakes, inaccuracies, or have queries about our sources. The discussion and comments help us improve our work and let us learn together.

09/01/2024

When Jom invited us to contribute to their first print issue, we wondered how we could best make use of the print medium. As a largely digital publication, this offered us new and exciting possibilities. We came up with a pull-out section that explores housing and land use in Singapore, expanding on ideas of identity, rootedness, and our relationship to land, and using data to explore these ideas more thoroughly.

09/01/2024

When Jom invited us to contribute to their first print issue, we wondered how we could best make use of the print medium. As a largely digital publication, this offered us new and exciting possibilities. We came up with a pull-out section that explores housing and land use in Singapore, expanding on ideas of identity, rootedness, and our relationship to land, and using data to explore these ideas more thoroughly.

-

Sources:

Slide 3: The data here is calculated from “Resale Flat Prices” on data.gov.sg (https://beta.data.gov.sg/collections / 189/view), accessed on October 20th 2023. The dataset is a comprehensive list of every flat transaction since 1990, with details on transaction date, lease age, address, unit type, estate, and price. The calculations from the dataset were done with Google Sheets’ filter and pivot table features.

Slide 5: For this visualisation, we chose a GCB located on 33 Nassim Road, one of the largest GCBs sold in recent years, according to a Mothership article dated July 31st 2019 (https://mothership.sg/2019/07/nassim-road-bungalow-333/). The semi-detached plot size was calculated from the median area of all semi-detached houses from URA’s private property transactions database (https://www.ura.gov.sg/property-market-information/pmi ResidentialTransactionSearch), dated September 2018 to August 2023. To derive plot size for all the other properties, we used land query and area calculation features of OneMap (https://www.onemap.gov.sg/v2/landquery).

28/12/2023

End-of-year festivities usually bring a lot of merriment, and an invitation to spend more money. As 2023 comes to a close, we reflect on the consequences of our consumption, and what this means for our sense of humanity.

To read the full note, subscribe to our newsletter and join our Kawan community. Click the link in bio to find out more.

21/12/2023

It’s that time of the year again for Kontinentalist Wrapped! ✨ It’s been a journey! Here’s a glimpse of our top stories this year. What stories did you like? Let us know in the comments.

Of course, none of this would have been possible without you, our amazing community of partners and readers. Thank you for all your support and we can’t wait to show you what’s in store for 2024!

14/12/2023

We’re hosting our very first New Year’s Dinner Party—and you’re invited! ✨Join us on Friday, 5 January 2024 as we celebrate the past year together with you, our incredible community of friends, readers, and partners who've played an important role in our journey. And that's not all. We'll be unveiling our first-ever print volume of the Data Deep Dive booklet and sharing our exciting plans for 2024!

Grab your tickets now. Link in bio.

29/11/2023

While peacetime military operations already consume vast amounts of energy, the environmental damage from modern warfare is even more profound. Widespread pollution, scorched lands, and disrupted ecosystems all result in devastating consequences that ripple through generations.

This month’s issue of notes from the equator looks at the environmental cost of the military-industrial complex, and uncovers the hidden sides of the clean energy industry.

For more stuff on climate change and human rights, subscribe to our newsletter and join our Kawan community! Click the link in bio to find out more.

-

30/06/2023

At Kontinentalist, our work is mostly online (for now!). So we get it, we all need to touch a little grass sometimes. In this month’s notes from the equator, we delve into our ever-evolving relationship with nature, the environment, and the people around us. Plus, we take stock of the cool stuff we've achieved this year thus far, thanks to your support.

✨An important announcement✨ Our monthly newsletter is now part of Kawan, our brand-new membership programme created to deepen our relationship with our community.

Don't worry, the newsletter still has all our usual good stuff, while members get access to all content published on the new Kawan platform. And guess what? Our content is open for all in July, so everyone gets a taste of what's coming! Swipe to read now and see what's in store for you.

-