News & Announcements

A new report by Toda Senior Research Fellow Dr Lisa Schirch lays out actionable recommendations for governments, civil society, researchers, and industry to design digital platforms that reduce harm and increase benefit to society. The Blueprint on Prosocial Tech Design Governance responds to the crisis in the scale and impact of digital platform harms. Digital platforms are fueling a systemic crisis by amplifying misinformation, harming mental health, eroding privacy, promoting polarization, exploiting children, and concentrating unaccountable power through manipulative design. Prosocial tech design governance is a framework for regulating digital platforms based on how their design choices— such as algorithms and interfaces—impact society. It shifts focus “upstream” to address the root causes of digital harms and the structural incentives influencing platform design. This commissioned report was published by the Council on Technology and Social Cohesion, and the University of Notre Dame, in association with Toda Peace Institute. Download the report here.      

New seawalls also protect low-lying atolls in Tuvalu, and more will appear in Kiribati, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Fiji and other island nations, many with funding from the Australian government and international development organisations. They're a source of hope for countries grappling with sea level rise - which scientists say will continue even if the world limits global temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial times. For the full story, go to RNZ News. Image: DFAT/wikicommons    

  Communities in Vanuatu are learning to grow climate resilient crops, 18 months after Cyclone Lola devastated the country. Save the Children Vanuatu country director Polly Banks said they have been working alongside Vanuatu's Ministry of Agriculture and local partners, supporting families through the Tropical Cyclone Lola Recovery Programme. She said the programme looked at the impact of the cyclone on backyard gardening and on people's economic reliance on what they grow in their gardens, and developed a recovery plan to respond. For the full story, go to RNZ International / Pacific. Image: Neil Rawlins/shutterstock.com    

  Find links to stories related to COP30 to be held in Belém, Brazil. (10 November - 21 November) The climate question: where COP fits into the world's response A Pacific climate change advisor, who has attended multiple iterations of the United Nations climate summit, the Conference of Parties (COP), says it is not perfect, but it is the only process the world currently has. Source: RNZ InternationalPosted: 14 April 2025 Pacific climate activists join over 180 groups urging COP30 hosts to end fossil fuels dependence Pacific climate activists this week handed a letter from civil society to this year's United Nations climate conference hosts, Brazil, emphasising their demands for the end of fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy. More than 180 indigenous, youth, and environmental organisations from across the world have signed the letter, coordinated by the campaign organisation, 350.org. Source: RNZ InternationalPosted: 12 April 2025 'We cannot let this moment pass': Palau leader is all-in for Australia-led Pacific COP Palau's President Surangel Whipps Jr fully supports a Australia-led Pacific United Nations climate change conference (COP31) next year. Whipps, who is in Sydney to promote smart energy and support Australia's COP31 bid, said hosting the annual climate conference in partnership with the Pacific is Canberra's "opportunity to lead on the world stage-with credibility and conscience". Source:RNZ InternationalPosted: 10 April 2025   Image: Poetra.RH/shutterstock.com    

  In this interview with The Korea Times, Moon Chung-in, the James Laney Distinguished Professor at Yonsei University discusses U.S. President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, its impacts on South Korea and East Asia, and the pivotal role of China in the new international order. The interview was held on the occasion of the publication of Prof. Moon’s new book, titled “Why Has U.S. Diplomacy Failed?” The full interview can be accessed here.   Image: Maria Ajmal/shutterstock.com