CivicTech Lab @the UNESCO Capacity Building Workshops for Southeast Asia
May 6 - May 8, 2026
The Civic Tech Lab was invited to contribute to the UNESCO Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms: Capacity Building Workshops for Southeast Asia Regulators, Digital Platforms, and Civil Society, hosted by Universitas Diponegoro Semarang and Prof Dr. Wijayanto in Semarang, Indonesia!
The workshop brought together regulators, civil society organisations, academics, digital platforms, and international partners from across Southeast Asia to discuss platform governance, human rights, transparency, accountability, freedom of expression, and user safety.
The Civic Tech Lab, along with our Singapore-based collaborators, contributed to two capacity-building sessions, showcasing National University of Singapore’s strengths in communication research, civic technology, and trusted digital environments.
The first session, for civil society organisations, was led by our Lab director Weiyu Zhang, Nigel Teo from SHE Singapore and Wi En Ng, Master graduate from NUS Communications and New Media and Research Associate at CASMIDA.
The second session, for civil society organisations and regulators, including senior public officers, was led by Nicholas Thomas, Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, National University of Singapore and PhD Candidate in NUS Communications and New Media. Mr. Wei Yang Ho contributed an online presentation on how to use evidence to monitor social media platforms.
We are glad to have contributed to this regional conversation on how UNESCO’s global guidelines can be translated into practical tools for Southeast Asia. We look forward to supporting UNESCO, I4T Global Knowledge Network, Asian Media Information and Communication Centre, INC.(AMIC) - ASIA, and regional partners in advancing practical, rights-based approaches to digital platform governance across Southeast Asia.
A big thank you to Ana Lomtadze, Yekthi Murthi, Dr. Wijayanto, Dr. Bangkit Wiryawan, Ramon R. Tuazon, Marco Polo, and all participants for the thoughtful discussions and practical exchange!
News coverage can be found here:
2. Berita Jateng TV: https://beritajateng.tv/marak-masalah-privasi-di-asean-undip-dan-unesco-siapkan-toolkit-tata-kelola-platform-digital/
4. IDN Times: https://jateng.idntimes.com/news/jawa-tengah/unesco-undip-perkuat-tata-kelola-platform-digital-berbasis-ham-00-1kqqx-154srp
5. Suara Merdeka: https://www.suaramerdeka.com/pendidikan/0417099260/antisipasi-hoaks-pemilu-2029-bawaslu-dan-kemenkomdigi-perkuat-pengawasan-platform-digital-di-asean
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