ASEAN Quiz Promotes Regional Knowledge Among Students

Tough questions, a tense atmosphere and a close intellectual battle was the scene at this year’s ASEAN Quiz held in Malaysia. Thirty students from all ten ASEAN Member Countries competed in the contest. One of the winners, the 18 year-old student from Indonesia Miss Ninez Hendrasti, said what she gained from meeting her young counterparts went “beyond the prize”. It had broadened her knowledge about the rich culture of nine different countries of ASEAN.

Organised by the Ministry of Information of Malaysia, the ASEAN Quiz was held in Kuala Lumpur on 17-19 September 2006. The theme for this year was “Ten Nations, One Community” with a grand prize of $1,500 USD. The event brought a total of thirty high school students – all winners of national level competitions - for the biennial show down. The competition, which was divided into ‘Individual’ and ‘Group’ contests, challenged participants on their knowledge of the ASEAN region. The students answered questions on politics, economy, security, sports, culture, tourism, science and technology.

The participants of the ASEAN Quiz 2006

Instead of countries competing against each other, in the Group category contestants were divided into six teams with members of each team being made up of various nationalities. The overall Individual Category was won by a participant from Malaysia Miss Afida Liyana Bin Yahaya, while the Group Category was won by a team comprised of students from Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Viet Nam.

The ASEAN Quiz competition, open to students between the age of 16 and 19, is part of the activities of ASEAN-Committee on Culture and Information (ASEAN-COCI) to raise ASEAN awareness among the young generation of ASEAN citizens. It takes place in a different ASEAN host country every two years.