BHUTAN
Tshering Palden, Chief Reporter, Kuensel
Tshering has been a journalist for more than 11 years, rising from reporter to chief reporter at Bhutan’s national bilingual newspaper Kuensel. These are worrying times as five Bhutanese newspapers have shut down in the past five years, and government advertising revenue – the major source of newspaper revenue – is shrinking. During AJF, he wants to research multimedia storytelling as a possible way forward for traditional media. His interests are photography, videography and football.
CHINA
Zhang Yan, Senior Reporter, China Economic Times
A journalist for 12 years, Zhang Yan covers public health, including tobacco control, as well as financial and environmental issues. He has won several awards for his stories. His interests are reading and travelling. He is also known as Daniel. While in Singapore he wants to examine how to protect the privacy of individuals in the age of fintech and the effect of fintech on insurance and the public health sector.
Zhao Changyu, Editor, Hangzhou TV, Hangzhou Culture Broadcasting and TV Group
A journalist for more than nine years, Changyu specialises in education and legal issues. She is keen to explore new ways to reach audiences given the explosion of new media. For her AJF project she wants to find out how to improve the quality of news content, and the ways journalists can design new products that connect with audiences. Her interests are playing the piano, classical music, yoga, and travelling.
INDIA
Ashwini Shrivastava, Assistant Editor, Press Trust of India
Ashwini is Assistant Editor with the Press Trust of India. He covers the President’s Office and government policies. Ashwini has written impactful stories about corruption, money-laundering and irregularities in government agencies, as well as on terrorism and left-wing extremism, and is a commentator on contemporary issues on All India Radio. His interests are interacting with people and wildlife. For his AJF research project, he wants to examine and learn from Singapore’s approach to raising GST while other countries struggle with it.
Jayshree Pyasi, Staff Reporter, Mint, HT Media, Mumbai
A journalist for seven years, Jayshree reports on the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), corporate fraud and scams. She made her mark as a young reporter covering hard beats and won the Rising Star Award 2017 at HT Media for her work at Mint, the Hindustan Times (HT) Group’s business daily. Her interests include travelling, reading and watching content from other countries. For her AJF, she wants to examine cross-border regulatory coordination within ASEAN for growth of securities markets.
INDONESIA
Helena Fransisca, Journalist, Kompas Daily
A journalist for 14 years, Helena started out as a sports reporter before specialising in urban issues, especially public transportation. She is keen to learn more about ways to improve the lives of urban dwellers, especially with the right policies and provisions in public transport. During AJF she wants to draw lessons for Jakarta from Singapore’s approach to managing its rail and road public transport systems to serve commuters. Her interests are travelling, walking, eating, reading and listening to music.
Mohammad Jafar Bua, Field Producer and Photojournalist, CNN Indonesia
Jafar has been a journalist for 22 years and lives in Palu, Central Sulawesi, which suffered a devastating earthquake and tsunami in September 2018 which left more than 2,000 people dead. Covering that and other disasters has taught him that at the worst of times, people need uplifting news. He has also covered religious conflict and terrorism. His AJF project is to find out about Singapore’s disaster preparation and management system to learn how these events can be anticipated and prepared for. His interests are mountaineering, cooking and writing.
KAZAKHSTAN
Kamshat Abdiraiym, Editor, Mangystau Media
A journalist for 14 years, Kamshat started in journalism, did a stint of public relations and returned to journalism at an online media site which has grown in terms of audience and content generated. She remains excited about the future of journalism and wants to find new ways to reach audiences. Her AJF project is to work on a blueprint for expanding her news website’s video content, and starting a TV studio in the newsroom. Her interests are reading and swimming.
LAOS
Souksamai Boulom, Journalist, Vientiane Times
A journalist for six years, Souksamai covers business news and small and medium-sized enterprises and she is keen to find ways for her country’s SMEs to improve in terms of production and packaging in order to sell more at home and abroad. While in Singapore she wants to learn how SMEs manage their production, R&D, packaging and promotion to expand. Her interests are reading, cooking and gardening.
MONGOLIA
Khulan Jugder, Editor-in-Chief, UB.Life and Gereg Magazine
Eight years in journalism, Khulan works in online journalism. Given her country’s youthful population, she says the challenge for journalists is to find the balance between entertaining, informing and engaging young people in ways they will respond to. Her interests are music, photography, films, tennis and swimming. For her AJF research project, she wants to look at Singapore’s e-governance efforts.
MYANMAR
Maran Htoi Aung, Editor, Kachin Waves
Maran is an ethnic Kachin who grew up in a village, and received journalism training in Yangon before returning to his home state which is the scene of ongoing conflict between the Kachin Independence Army and the Myanmar military. Kachin Waves is dedicated to reporting on Kachin state issues, and Maran helps train reporters and educate villagers. His interests are reading and football. For his research project, he wants to look at media literacy and combating fake news.
NEPAL
Bhasha Sharma, Correspondent, Nepal Republic Media
As a child, Bhasha walked an hour to school, listened to the radio and knew she wanted to be a journalist when she grew up. Her parents brought her newspapers to read and she pasted news clippings above her bed. After 14 years as a journalist, winning awards and covering legal, political and human rights news, she is still excited about journalism although it’s less about radio and newspapers these days and more about digital. She wants to research the latest in new media and what traditional media must do to retain audiences. She enjoys travelling.
PAKISTAN
Sadia Mazhar, Correspondent, Daily Parliament Times, Islamabad
A journalist for six years, Sadia sees women in Pakistan as an under-developed resource, a group that is capable of making an impact in business but sorely lacking in encouragement and resources to get started and take off. She wants to make a difference in highlighting ways to assist potential entrepreneurs. Her AJF project is focused on ways Singapore helps women entrepreneurs to thrive. Her interests are reading, writing, socialising and exploring.
PHILIPPINES
Victoria Tulad, Senior News Correspondent, GMA Network
After more than eight years as a TV journalist, Victoria relishes being remembered for stories she put her heart and soul into and has the awards to show for it, including one for a documentary about three young dumpsite scavengers. She wants to learn lessons from Singapore’s mass rapid transport system work for the Philippines. Her interests are reading, travelling, mountain climbing, watching Korean dramas and making documentaries.
SINGAPORE
Chia Lee Suan, Associate News Editor (Crime and Court), Lianhe Zaobao and Lianhe Wanbao
After 26 years, Lee Suan says: “Journalism is my ultimate passion.” She runs a team of 14 crime and court reporters, and the impact of great stories keeps her in love with the job. She once wrote about two siblings with a rare disease, and it moved readers to donate more than $400,000, enabling the pair to seek medical treatment abroad. For her research project, she wants to look at terrorism reporting in Singapore’s context and how media would cover an event on the scale of the recent Christchurch or Sri Lanka tragedies.
SRI LANKA
Kalani Kumarasinghe, Features Editor, The Daily Mirror, Wijeya Newspapers Ltd
A rising star at The Daily Mirror, Kalani has worked in print and broadcast media and now writes, trains young reporters and is involved in newspaper-in-education activities. Ten years after the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war, the effects are still being felt and the scars of ethnic and religious conflict remain. She wants her journalism to help the healing process. In Singapore, she wants to see how young people are building bridges in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious society. Her interests include reading, blogging, sketching, photography, travelling and writing.