To further explore the ideas of labor migrations outcome in Asia, on 20 January 2018 at 5 PM – 6.30 PM, SEA Junction in collaboration with ILO and Rapid Asia held a public discussion of the “Risks and Rewards” report. Two of the authors of the report namely Benjamin Harkins, technical officer of ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and Daniel Lindgren, founder at Rapid Asia, Ltd, and founding partner of SEA-Junction, and an independent migration expert Emeritus Professor Supang Chantavanich of Chulalongkorn University made brief presentations followed by open interaction with the participants. Substantive as well as methodological issues was highlighted and so will possible intervention and policy options based on the findings.

Speakers’ Profiles

Benjamin Harkins is the Technical Officer (Research and M&E) for the Tripartite Action to Enhance the Contribution of Labour Migration to Growth and Development in ASEAN (TRIANGLE II project). In this role, his work has focused on enhancing the evidence base for labor migration governance within the region, enhancing results-based management and increasing the rigor of the project’s monitoring and evaluation system.

Daniel Lindgren is the founder of Rapid Asia, a social development consulting firm based in Bangkok. Rapid Asia has carried out multi country and large scale national studies in over 20 countries across Asia and beyond, working with a number of high profile donors, UN agencies and international NGOs giving the organization in-depth expertise in several thematic areas such as health, migration, disaster relief, education, human trafficking, climate change, micro finance and food security.

Supang Chantavanich is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Chulalongkorn University. Her research at the Asian Research Center for Migration (ARCM) focuses on refugee, migrant worker, and human trafficking issues. Her work on cross border issues is primarily concerned with questions of gender, health, education and the protection of the rights of displaced persons.

Photos by: Rosalia Scoirtino and Kanyawee Seedabut