The Bulletin

Stephff's world

Winds of Change – Geopolitics at the crossroads of South and Southeast Asia

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Book talk,
Monday, 20 April, 7pm

Drawing on firsthand experience, regional travel, exclusive interviews and research, ‘Winds of Change' examines four key themes: the Geopolitics of Belt and Road, India-China Regional Diplomacy, Geopolitical Power Rivalries and Sri Lanka’s Domestic Political Challenge. This book looks at how countries like Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore and Vietnam are adjusting to shifting power dynamics, while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Maldives, and Nepal struggle to maintain balance amid India-China-US tensions. It goes on to investigate how Trump 2.0 could accelerate a global order increasingly tilted toward China.

Asanga Abeyagoonasekera is an author, international security and geopolitics analyst and strategic adviser from Sri Lanka. He is a senior fellow and the executive director of the South Asia Foresight Network at the Millennium Project in Washington DC. He was the former director general of the Institute of National Security Studies under Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence and former executive director of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute, a foreign policy think tank in Sri Lanka.

Moderator: Panu Wongcha-um, FCCT president and Reuters senior correspondent.

Copies of the book will be available on the night.

Members who wish to book in advance should email info@fccthai.com or call the FCCT office on 02-652-0580.

Non-members can use this link.

Members free, non-members 300 baht; students and local media with ID 150 baht.Bar and restaurant open.

Why Bangkok sits at the centre of an emerging global travel geography

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Industry briefing by Rafat Ali, CEO of Skift, Monday, 27 April, 3pm

Thailand’s tourism sector has been hit hard by impacts from the war and oil crisis in the Middle East. But, according to Rafat Ali, founder and CEO of Skift, a leading travel industry intelligence company, Bangkok sits at the centre of a new global travel geography set to emerge in the wake of a restructuring world order.

Ali, who will be in Bangkok for the 2nd Skift Asia Forum, says the global travel industry was built on a transatlantic axis that is now breaking apart along three fault lines: demographic demand shifting south and east, AI fragmenting who controls travel distribution, and a Middle East corridor expected to emerge stronger from war than Western analysts expect.

On April 27, Rafat Ali will provide a snapshot briefing on this outlook. He will connect the dots between these forces and explain how Thailand can take advantage of this rapidly shifting travel landscape. Hotel revenue is surging across the Asia-Pacific region, while Vietnam is drawing a wave of global capital. Chinese outbound tourism is reshaping regional routes. And the Iran conflict has thrown Middle East transit hubs into flux, disrupting travel flows for nearly half of the operators in Southeast Asia.

The Skift Asia Forum 2026 will be attended by CEOs and senior industry leaders from Hilton, Agoda, the Trip.com group, Grab, Booking.com, Traveloka, IHG, Hyatt, Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons and many other global and regional corporations in aviation, hospitality, online travel, and destinations on the dynamics reshaping the region – and what they mean for the decisions ahead.

This is a great opportunity for stakeholders in the Thai travel industry to get up to speed with the latest research, forecasts and trends.

Time: 3pm to 4.30pm.

Moderator: Imtiaz Muqbil, executive editor, Travel Impact Newswire.

Members who wish to book in advance should email info@fccthai.com or call the FCCT office on 02-652-0580.

Non-members can use this link.

Members free, non-members 200 baht; students and local media with ID 150 baht.Bar and restaurant open.

Pressing on: Journalism and press freedom in Southeast Asia

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UNESCO-FCCT panel discussion, Monday, 4 May, 7pm

The conditions for journalism have rarely been harder. The latest UNESCO World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development report records a 10% decline in freedom of expression globally since 2012, driven by rising physical attacks, digital threats, and a 63% surge in self-censorship among journalists. Across South-East Asia, those pressures are acutely felt. Yet correspondents continue to file from exile. Investigators expose disinformation networks. Press freedom advocates hold the line. And media innovators find new ways to keep independent journalism financially viable. Across South-East Asia, a generation of journalists is finding ways to advance the cause of free expression under conditions that would silence others.

To mark World Press Freedom Day 2026, UNESCO Bangkok and the FCCT will bring together journalists and advocates in the region to discuss what it takes to keep reporting, why it matters, and what the future holds.

Thu Thu Aung, editor-in-chief, Frontier Myanmar; a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist;

Regine Cabato, investigative journalist covering culture, disinformation and politics in the Philippines;

Other panelists to be confirmed

Members who wish to book in advance should email info@fccthai.com or call the FCCT office on 02-652-0580.

Non-members can use this link.

Members free, non-members 300 baht; students and local media with ID 150 baht.Bar and restaurant open.

The Day Iceland Stood Still

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Film, Wednesday, 6 May, 7pm

When 90% of Iceland’s women walked off their jobs and out of their homes one morning in 1975, they brought the nation to a standstill and ignited a revolution that has catapulted Iceland to the forefront of today's global struggle for gender equality. This multiple award-winning film, which commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Women’s Day Off, tells the story for the first time through voices of the women who lived it. Unexpectedly funny and laced with evocative animation, The Day Iceland Stood Still revisits an unprecedented act of civil disobedience that still inspires people all over the world, especially at this dark time in global affairs. A fantastic documentary of a momentous struggle – not to be missed!

Directed by Emmy award-winning US filmmaker Pamela Hogan, in collaboration with acclaimed Icelandic producer Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdóttir, this is the true story of 24 hours that sparked a revolution. With a score by one of Iceland’s best-known rock singers, Margrét Rán (GusGus, Vök), and evocative animated sequences by artist Joel Orloff, The Day Iceland Stood Still unfolds through the vivid memories of the women who created and lived this moment. “We loved our male chauvinist pigs,” recalls one of the activists. “We just wanted to change them a little!” Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Guðrún Erlendsdóttir recalls being told she couldn’t go to law school because “you’ll be married before you’re 18” and farmer Ágústa Þorkelsdottir, incensed that women couldn’t join the Farmer’s Association unless they were widows, wondered “Do I have to kill my husband to be recognized as a farmer?”

The film features a rare interview with Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, the world’s first democratically-elected female head of state, who took office just five years after the strike. And former President Guðni Th Jóhannesson’s story about his father’s tragic attempt to cook the family dinner that day sheds light on why some men came to call October 24, 1975 “the long Friday.”

Opening address by Svanhildur Steinarsdóttir, Consul of Iceland (in Tokyo).

Pamela Hogan, filmmaker, The Day Iceland Stood Still.

Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdóttir, filmmaker, The Day Iceland Stood Still.

Moderator: Sarah Newey, FCCT Board Member and journalist.

Co-sponsored by the FCCT and the Embassy of Iceland.

Members who wish to book in advance should email info@fccthai.com or call the FCCT office on 02-652-0580.

Non-members can use this link.

Members free, non-members 150 baht; students and local media with ID 150 baht.Bar and restaurant open.

Asia American Journalists Association (AAKA - Asia)

Annual conference: Upholding journalism’s values & viability in the age of AI

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May 21-23, 2026

The Asian chapter of the Asia America Journalists’ Association (AAJA-Asia) will hold the 16th New-Now-Next Media Conference (N3Con 2026) at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, from May 21-23. The event’s exciting program and a list of confirmed speakers (to date) are available online at https://www.n3con.com/2026/. Over the years, N3Con has become one of the most dynamic and influential gatherings of journalists across the Asia-Pacific region.

FCCT members wishing to attend can enjoy a 30% discount on all tickets. To get the special code for FCCT members for use in the online registration below, please call Khun New at the FCCT office or contact her at info@fccthai.com

This year’s conference will feature panel discussions, roundtables, keynote presentations, coaching sessions, workshops, and one-on-one clinics. It will gather more than 200 journalists from both international media organizations and local newsrooms. The program will explore topics such as the responsible use of AI in news production and distribution, lessons from content creators, cross-border climate reporting, investigative journalism, reporting in exile, and journalists’ safety and mental health.

Artificial intelligence is reshaping the very foundations of journalism - from how stories are produced to how audiences discover and engage with news. In this rapidly evolving landscape, the media industry faces a defining challenge: to reimagine what news and information products can and should look like, while remaining true to its core values and securing its financial future.

Journalists need to harness AI responsibly and cost-effectively to enhance their reporting, streamline workflows, and develop innovative storytelling formats. At the same time, they must sharpen their capacity to scrutinize the broader societal implications of AI systems, from automated decision-making and data governance to algorithmic bias.

Keynote speakers include:

Anjali Kapoor, director of AI, innovation and growth at the BBC;

Amy Mitchell, executive director of the Center for News, Technology and Innovation;

Jodie Ginsberg, chief executive officer of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

The agenda for the event can be found here.

Register before April 17 to enjoy early-bird discounts.

This is not an FCCT event.

Co-working at the FCCT

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Tuesday, 21 April, 10am

Need a change of scenery from your home office? Join us for a coworking day at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand (FCCT) -- a perfect space for working professionals, digital nomads and anyone looking to break free from the home-office routine.

Enjoy a spacious, comfortable workspace with dedicated tables, a full restaurant, café and bar and exclusive lunch specials just for this event.

Whether you're tackling deadlines or networking with like-minded professionals, this is an opportunity to be productive in a collaborative, social environment. Come work, connect, and enjoy great food because working remotely doesn’t have to mean working alone.

Free and open to all.Bar and restaurant open.

Board games night

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Tuesday, 21 April, 7pm

Join us for a chilled night of board games with The Boring Club. Try your luck with classics like chess and backgammon or modern games including Catan and Pandemic.The bar and restaurant will be open. Try our pizzas from the new pizza oven. The Boring Club meets at the FCCT clubhouse for games every Tuesday at 7pm.

Free and open to all.Bar and restaurant open.

FCCT pub trivia

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Friday, 24 April, 7pm

Gather your friends and colleagues for a night of pub trivia at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand.

Come for a bite and a beverage and test your knowledge. 1,000 baht bar tab up for grabs for the winning team, to be redeemed on the night.

Advanced table bookings encouraged here.

Free and open to all.Bar and restaurant open.

"Not much space for independent media in Myanmar"
Toe Zaw Latt

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Dateline Bangkok podcast

Watch the full video at this link.

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