/issue/2017.02

2017 is looking like the year the ASEAN startups really make their mark. Its potential to grow into a $200 billion internet economy "is an idea whose time has come," Sajith Sivanandan, who oversees Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and new emerging markets at Google, said at Bloomberg's Asean Business Summit in Hanoi back in December. Google is definitely paying close attention. In a report alongside Temasek Holdings Pte, they reported that there is going to be a 16 fold increase in E-commerce in the region to reach US$88 billion by 2025.

One of these startups is really making its presence felt in the region- Snapcart (https://snapcart.asia/), founded in Indonesia, is a simple app allowing people to scan their receipts and getting a rebate based on the amount they have scanned. After a certain time, the customers can get the cash in their bank accounts or use it to get gift vouchers. It is as easy as that. The app has been downloaded more than 500,000 times and they have recently expanded from Indonesia to enter Philippines where they have attracted 10,000 users in 2 weeks!

With more than 2.5 million receipts processed thus far, things are looking good for Snapcart. They currently have 75 local and multi-national brands that have used their service and the ability to get data instantaneously is a homerun for many companies. They have expansion plans for Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand in the near future too. Speaking in a recent interview on CNBC, Teresa Condicion, cofounder of Snapcart, says, "Receipts contain valuable consumer data in markets where e-commerce is less accessible." Watch the whole interview here (http://g.shorturl.asia/uzVAr5)

With more funding available in the region and with the continuous integration of the ASEAN countries, it is a safe bet to say we will have more success stories like Snapcart choosing .asia extensions coming up very soon.

NetMission.Asia together with DotKids Foundation and YouthOnline Association, co-organized a Child Online Safety Roundtable 2017 in Hong Kong celebrating the Safer Internet Day together with over 100 countries globally on Tuesday 7th February this year with the theme 'Be the change: unite for a better internet'. The aim of the roundtable is to provide a platform for different stakeholders to share information on the work they have done for the online protection of children and young people from local, regional and global perspective. In addition, the discussion raised awareness on disrupting the disseminations of Child Sexual Abusive Materials (CSAM) especially in Hong Kong as the host city of the roundtable.

Representatives from non-governmental organizations, governmental departments, the ICT industry, legal sector, academia, as well as child and youth groups were invited to join the roundtable. By further engaging related stakeholders in the discussion, we hope to establish an online reporting mechanism in Hong Kong to help in the fight against CSAM and to ensure a better cyberspace for our next generation.

ICANN 58 Copenhagen is coming up mid next month in March.  Known as the "Happiest City in the World", (http://worldhappiness.report/ed/2016/) the Danes have a word "hygge" (pronounced "hooga") that translates roughly to "coziness".  Hope this will serve as smiles and inspiration for all industry folk gathering in the cheerful Nordic city to continue intensive work on the CCWG-Accountability Work Stream 2, new gTLD Subsequent Procedures, CCWG on new gTLD auction proceeds and many other PDPs and processes.

The community-led APAC Space will also have an in-person meeting in Copenhagen, come join if you want to learn about ICANN policy issues from the APAC perspective.

As always, the DotAsia team will be on hand to advocate on behalf of the DotAsia community especially in the IDN and UA work areas – see you soon in Copenhagen, god rejse!

Think.Cook.Save. is Go.Asia's (www.go.asia) flagship education program that aims to inspire students with multi-disciplinary activities, including interactive talks and cooking classes. This program is greatly recognized among schools and parents, and successfully changed students' habits to choosing healthy food and cherishing food resources.

In 2017, our spotlight is on environmental protection which echoes our previous collaboration with the UNEP in 2013. From cutting down the consumption of junk food and meat to producing less food waste, students are able to understand more about the global goals for sustainable development, in particular goal 2: Zero Hunger, goal 3: Good Health and Well-being, goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production and goal 13: Climate Action which related to food production & consumption (http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/).

Our focus this year is to give students a mission to be a "Food Hero", which means everyone has 3 opportunities (3 meals) to save our earth everyday. Starting from deciding what and how you eat, students will know how to live a sustainable life.

The Asia Pacific regional Internet Governance Forum (APrIGF) 2017 is jointly hosted by Chulalongkorn University and the National Broadcasting and Telcommunications Commission (NBTC) and will be held in Bangkok, Thailand from July 26-29.

APrIGF 2017 is now calling for workshop proposals from the community on the overarching theme "Ensuring an Inclusive and Sustainable Development in Asia-Pacific: A Regional Agenda for Internet Governance". Contribute to the program agenda development process and submit a workshop.

Online Submission Deadline: 15 Mar 2017, 24:00 UTC Visit http://2017.aprigf.asia for more details.

Since the U.S. Presidential inauguration in January, many ripples have reverberated around the world. U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies could dash the hopes of emerging Asian economies seeking to emulate China's early development, according to former Indonesian finance minister Chatib Basri.

In terms of trade in Asia, the most immediate impact is the demise of the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership pact, a blow dealt by the Trump Administration to the seven Asia-Pacific signatories to the TPP -- Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Brunei and New Zealand.

Trump's direction of American protectionism and policy shifts are affecting emerging economies such as Indonesia - it is the world's worst-performing emerging stock market since the election of Trump and the only developing Southeast Asian exchange to see outflows this year.

With the TPP gone, the spotlight is now on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RSEP), which covers more than 45 percent of the world's population and 40 percent of global trade. In his remarks at Davos mid last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged global business and political elites to reject trade wars and protectionism.

Championed by China and led by the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), RCEP seeks to harmonize existing trade ties and forge new trade modalities between ASEAN and its six FTA partners: China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand. Critics have noted that the RCEP has less stringent rules on intellectual property, labor and environmental standards, and the operation of state-owned enterprises. The next round of talks are scheduled to start 27 February in Kobe, Japan.