Our Mission

The world has always had an opinion about the East, and we believe that it’s time for the East to have an opinion about the world. This is why we established Rough Draft, an interdisciplinary think that based in the East, in April 2024. As facilitators of dialogue, we test ideas, debate constructs, and advance the intellectual discourse. As a research organisation, our main areas of focus include, but are not limited to, global governance, foreign policy, neocolonialism, and culture.

Through our inclusive and interconnected frameworks, fellowships, publications, and outreach, we seek to create platforms that will advance critical conversations, and to increase the overall awareness, knowledge, and understanding of key issues, with both our stakeholders and the interested public. Unlike the rigid, academic models used by research organizations worldwide, Rough Draft adopts an interdisciplinary approach to studying global challenges. We combine entrepreneurship with culture, and merge numbers with art.