Details

The writeshop concentrated on an intensive and creative process aimed at publishing two books in 2019/2020. The key objective of the event was to obtain interdisciplinary and constructive feedback on the submitted draft papers that the upcoming books will consist of. In this way the high academic and scientific value of the published works can be ensured. All in all there will be approximately 12 academic papers in each book.

The main thematic areas of the upcoming books are 1) social inclusivity in Asia and 2) Access to Justice in Asia, including paralegalism. The second book will concentrate on these topics in the Bangladesh context. During the two days 12 authors from different academic fields from Bangladesh, India, Singapore, the United States and Pakistan presented their academic paper with a theme of their choosing. They were given feedback and comments on style, content, structure and academic level by the other participants. Important goals of the papers were to recognize causes for problems regarding the access to justice in the Asian region and to suggest solutions for the issues.

The bundle of topics that were presented and discussed during the two days in Thailand were: accessible forest rights for tribes living in Indian forests, how Access to Justice can be improved through paralegalism, the situation of women working in the Bangladesh garment sector, the deep problems of human trafficking in Asia, the tension between the formal and the informal justice systems in Bangladesh, the development of community policing in Bangladesh, financial inclusion in South Asia, the circumstances of the transgender community in Pakistan, social inclusion in Singapore, achieving digital government in Bangladesh, violence against children in Bangladesh and social justice in Bangladesh.

The event ended with two productive brainstorming sessions on practical usage of the content discussed and future research possibilities in these thematic fields. After that the group discussed the writeshop’s strengths and challenges. The participants also gave feedback on the structure and management of the event to help improve future collaborations. Even though this was the first writeshop experience for many of the participants, the outcome of the event was very positive and fruitful. The two day writeshop was also a great chance for all the participants to network.