Something happened and motivated these quiet activists to make an impact on their family, organization, or community. They chose to speak up about issues they care about. Some are following a tradition of generational activism. Others became involved for the first time and suddenly realized they were engaged in activism. IMPACT: PERSONAL PORTRAITS OF ACTIVISM gathers personal essays, poems, short stories and drama from around the world to show how actions big and small can lead to some form of justice.
Asia has been the greatest show on earth since Japan's rise from the ashes of World War II, accompanied in successive decades with the emergence of the Asian tigers, and eventually the two giants China and India. The Asian miracle has few precedents in the modern era, with billions lifted from poverty in a generation. The region's openness to trade and investment aligned perfectly with the tailwinds of globalisation. However, in recent years Asia has become a victim of its own success with commentators not differentiating between a utopian high-income Asia and a dystopian middle- and low-income Asia, where a significant majority of the region's population live. Asia today can be divided into countries which have a lot, have a little, and have none. The continent's dream run is also coming to an end as Covid-19 exposes sharp weaknesses in state capacity and structural challenges like the U.S.-China trade war is putting globalisation into reverse gear, jeopardising the region's hard-earned economic success.
