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Mekong – ASEAN Environmental Week (MAEW)

A regional socio-environmental living platform established in 2019.

MAEW Content (Fixed)

Mekong/ASEAN Environmental Week (MAEW) is the annual platform and entity for the more profound with a political ecology lens. Exchange among the frontline communities, regional civil society groups, and other actors on the issues of development, natural resources, and the socio-environmental impacts of large-scale projects and investments in the Mekong and Southeast Asia region. The forum aims to provide more space, understanding, analysis, and solidarity work among people in the movements with space to express themselves and chances to exchange among people who fight for similar causes. The storytelling, opinions, and demands will be expressed for a better future for the region and its people. Our mission is to have a more robust and continuous movement among the people in the region.

MAEW seeks solutions to environmental problems and gains justice in the region's economic, cultural, and livelihood issues, with a political ecology lens. We examine power relations and support marginalized, underrepresented groups, namely, frontline communities, their partners, and civil society groups. Yet, it involves academics, media, and independent mechanisms and targets public dialogue with policymakers and businesses.

Since the first Mekong-ASEAN Environmental Week in 2019, MAEW has been inviting different groups of people, networks, and relevant mechanisms to organize various activities on highlighted themes of the regional socio-ecological issues, which relate to democracy, climate justice, agriculture, food sovereignty, and transboundary impacts.

The said themes include:

  • Cross-border Investment: Belt and Road Initiatives, Special Economic Zones, Free Trade Agreements
  • Transboundary Impacts: Climate Crisis, Carbon Offset, Air Pollution, Waste
  • Energy and Ecology: Hydropower Dams, Impacts on the Mekong and Salween Rivers, extractive industries
  • Food producers: Farmers, Fisherpeople, Land Workers

MAEW has been aiming to invite discussions not only on the problems and challenges but also on prevention and solutions raised mainly by local community representatives. MAEW, in particular, is an event that brings the progressive voices of the Mekong and Southeast Asia together to resolve the common and cross-border problems driven by overpowering ideologies, economic models, projects, and actors.

Until now, MAEW has been working with more than 200 speakers and artists who join our panel discussions and art spaces and welcome thousands of public participants in various activities each year.

Re-visit the previous MAEW

Core Principle of MAEW

  • Platform for communities, CSOs, youth, artists, media, and academia to raise voices on environmental concerns.
  • Support current campaigns and benefit local communities hosting MAEW.
  • Decentralized structure — everyone who initiates is a co-organizer.
  • Encouragement of cross-border collaboration and shared ownership.
  • Core funding supports logistics, inclusion, and activities; most participation is self-funded.
  • Project SEVANA coordinates, evaluates, and communicates MAEW’s progress.
  • MAEW is a living platform, open to new ideas aligned with its principles.

The co-organizers and supporters of MAEW

The following organizations supported MAEW between 2019–2024:

  • American Jewish World Service (AJWS)
  • Community of Agro-Ecology Foundation (CAEF)
  • CCFD – Terra Solidaire
  • Chiang Khong Conservation Group (Thailand)
  • Community Art Network (Thailand)
  • Community Resource Centre (CRC) Thailand
  • Doc Club & Pub
  • EEC Watch
  • Equitable Cambodia (EC)
  • ETO Watch Coalition (Thailand)
  • Eureka Films
  • Fishery Action Coalition Team (FACT)
  • Focus on the Global South
  • GRAIN
  • Hemlock Restaurant (Thailand)
  • Hug Mae Nam Khong Tamui School
  • HRDF
  • Innovation for Change (IfC), East Asia
  • International Rivers
  • Land Watch Thai
  • Laos Dam Investment Monitor (LDIM)
  • MEENet
  • MSSRC, Ubon Ratchathani University
  • Mekong Watch
  • Philadelphia Bookshop (Thailand)
  • Prachatai
  • Project SEVANA South-East Asia
  • SACD
  • Songsarn Coffee shop
  • SEM
  • STEP, the Philippines
  • The Bean Embassy, Siem Reap
  • Thai Volunteer Service Foundation
  • Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, Chula
  • The Mekong Butterfly
  • RCSD
  • Thai PBS
  • TSEJ
  • Towards Organic Asia (TOA)
  • UMFD, Thailand
  • World Rainforest Movement (WRM)