All posts filed under: News & Updates

Last Call: Lao 100 Submissions

Published by Saysomphorn Sisavatdy

It’s LAST CALL for the Lao 100 submissions! Last submissions must be sent to us by 09/30/2019 at 00:00 PST. Take a look at the details below and DON’T be modest. Know an amazing Laotian doing incredible things in your community? Why not nominate them for a little appreciation? Are you trailblazing in a field we aren’t even aware of–let us help celebrate how far we’ve all come and your contributions! What: Our very own, limited edition print magazine featuring the Lao 100!  When: Due out Spring 2020 in honor of Little Laos turning 20 years old! Details: We’re looking for people who represent and have contributed to lifting and impacting the development of the Lao diaspora community in significant ways: this includes activists, trailblazers, pioneers, social changemakers and especially those who are lesser known in the spotlight. We’re asking our readers to help us by nominating people (or yourself) who fit this description. Nominees must identify as having Lao heritage, agree to being interviewed and photographed for the publication, and can be from all …

UN expert: Laos’ approach ‘destroyed livelihoods, entrenched vulnerability’

Published by Staff

The remains of Mai village after the dam collapse in Attapeu. © Bassam Khawaja 2019. Laos’ economic and poverty alleviation approach is counterproductive to its impoverished population’s health and puts their rights at risk, according to a scathing preliminary report by United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston, which was recorded live for the first time. Alston delivered the report at the UN House in Vientiane Thursday after investigating the human rights of people in poverty in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. The report includes the status of rural children, women and ethnic minorities, environmental issues and climate change, the role of foreign investment and infrastructure projects, access to social support, education and healthcare, and more. Alston acknowledged the government’s progress in reducing poverty, such as lowering the number of those living below the poverty line in half, but said its methods to grow the economy have “destroyed livelihoods, entrenched vulnerability, and actually made some people poorer by taking away their access to lands, livelihoods, and resources.” Almost 1/4 of the population lives in poverty and an …