Thailand and Yunnan Province of China are economically dynamic areas, geographically adjacent to the much lower-income countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Việt Nam. These areas, comprising the Mekong River's extensive basin, are increasingly seen as a geopolitical and economic entity known as the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). Development-assistance agencies, such as the Asian Development Bank, are treating them as a grouping, promoting their economic integration to enhance the use and the marketing of existing resources and to strengthen their position in the global economy. The economic and social pressures generated by the large differences between and within countries and the unexpected deleterious impacts of 'regionalisation' on vulnerable peoples and communities, form a potential niche for the Foundation's regional program, centred in Bangkok. The regional program focuses on the uneven economic development and cultural tensions in the GMS and the resulting inequities among its diverse population. These inequities have become increasingly articulated as 'boundaries' encompassing not only conventional geopolitical borders but also the very real boundaries of gender, ethnic and religious identity. Multidisciplinary program activities within the region reflect and respond to the 'transboundary' challenges deriving from lopsided regional development on the lives of the most marginalised, vulnerable and excluded communities in the GMS. More specifically, the Learning Across Boundaries strategy aims to promote a collaborative learning process among institutions and individuals in the region in an effort to build the necessary human and social capacity to understand and address emerging transboundary trends. In partnership with the Health Equity and the Food Security themes, work has also been initiated to help ease the impact of AIDS in marginalised cross-border communities and to explore the impact of regional development efforts on rural, agrarian societies.