PUERTO PRINCESA CITY—Since March is Women’s Month, I thought it would be fitting to feature Filipinas who are promoting sustainable farming and dining.  For this week, I interviewed Sarah Queblatin, founder of Green Releaf Initiative, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that uses holistic systems like permaculture and ecovillage design to help local communities that are in transition.

Philippine expert is passionate about Chinese porcelain and its historical significance to Silk Road trade.

Chinese cofounder of an innovative platform for design and marketing services links young talent with corporate clients

Bruneian Brandon Ng is just 29 years old but he has already cofounded an innovative startup that aims to solve one of the world’s biggest problems — intermittent power supply. “The word innovation is overused,” said Ng, who is now based in Hong Kong. He believes it is most deserved when referring to solutions that are a little ahead of their time.

THERE is no plan B for Veenea Kamalam Pascual Nair. Even at a young age of 18, a time when most of her peers can’t even decide what degree to pursue in university, the senior grand finalist o the World Championship of Performing Arts (WCOPA) is bent on having an international recording career. “Even if you have a plan B, it might suck anyway. So you might as well stick with your plan A,”she says, paraphrasing one of the music producers she met at the WCOPA event.

KHAIRUNNISA Ash’ari will always remember the fireflies of her childhood. She grew up in Kg Tasek Meradun and as a child spent many nights fascinated by the fireflies that illuminated her backyard.

Lily Ng didn’t expect she would one day own a health store. Neither did she plan to become an advocate of urban gardening nor a one-woman support group for people with cancer. Like most chartered accountants, she pursued a career in finance, climbing the corporate ladder in an international bank. She thought this would be the life she would lead until she retires. But in 2007, she was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. This would push her to move to another direction, and in the process she found her true calling.

A growing number of Asian women are making inroads in science and technology, thanks to greater opportunities for career development and changing cultural mores.Interviews with female scientists across the region reveal that policies and laws that promote gender parity and equal opportunities, alongside changing cultural perceptions on women’s roles, more supportive families and the presence of female role models, are helping women cope with the challenges they usually face when choosing a demanding career in science and the academe.