At the ASEAN Foundation 10th Anniversary Forum
Jakarta, 16 January 2008

Your Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen

Let me begin, by expressing my most sincere congratulations to the ASEAN Foundation on the 10th anniversary of its establishment. In its decade long existence, the ASEAN Foundation has grown into a viable organization that has complemented ASEAN's efforts in forging an ASEAN Community. In particular, the work of the ASEAN Foundation has contributed significantly towards building a caring and sharing society under the ASEAN Socio-cultural Community Pillar through firstly, promoting greater awareness on ASEAN and greater interaction among the peoples of ASEAN and secondly by contributing to the evolution of a development cooperation strategy that promotes mutual assistance, equitable economic development and the alleviation of poverty.

While we note with great satisfaction the achievements of the ASEAN Foundation over the last ten years, we are also aware that there is much that still needs to be done. At the 12th and 13th ASEAN Summits held in Cebu and Singapore in January and November 2007 respectively, the ASEAN Leaders have articulated a new vision for ASEAN. At the Cebu Summit, the Leaders called for the acceleration of the ASEAN Community to 2015 from 2020 previously and reiterated their desire for ASEAN to be more people-centred. In Singapore, the Leaders inked the ASEAN Charter, essentially paving the way for ASEAN to be a rules based organization committed to fulfilling its various obligations and collective decisions. When ratified the ASEAN Charter, will be an important enabler for realizing the ASEAN Community.

It is in the context of building a people-centred ASEAN that the role of the ASEAN Foundation is critical. Despite all that ASEAN has achieved over the last 40 years both regionally and globally, it is yet to be fully understood by its people in particular the younger generation. There is much truth in the view that ASEAN has largely been the domain of governments and bureaucrats and that the vast majority of the peoples of the region have yet to fully embrace an ASEAN identity. If we are to fully justify an ASEAN Community we will have to change this perception.

And how do we do this? Firstly, we need to widen and deepen our engagement and interaction with the non-governmental and civil society organizations in the region, as these organizations work closely with the people and are in a better position to articulate their aspirations for an ASEAN Community. The inter-governmental nature of the various ASEAN mechanisms does pose some constraints in this respect and as such organizations like the ASEAN Foundation can play an important role in closing the gaps.

Secondly, we need to ensure that the private sector is more involved in the work of ASEAN. We need to develop effective communications strategies to inform the private sector of the efforts being made to forge an ASEAN Economic Community. The private sector will need to know how it can best leverage on the many regional agreements that have been put in place towards establishing a single market and production base in ASEAN. The ASEAN Foundation should work closely with other organizations such as the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and the business fora under the various ASEAN sectoral bodies in promoting a greater awareness of ASEAN's community building efforts to the private sector.

Finally, we need to promote greater awareness on ASEAN among our younger generation. The youths of today will be the leaders of tomorrow, and it is important that they grow into this role with a clear sense of an ASEAN identity. The traditional methods that have been used to reach out to the younger generation so far may have to be re-looked and new methods that appeal more to this group should be considered. In this respect, the use of ICT and the new media can be effective tools. Here again the private sector can be encouraged to play an active role.

I would like to state that what I have mentioned so far are not new ideas. The ASEAN Foundation has undertaken many activities towards promoting greater awareness on ASEAN among the various segments of the population. What I am saying is that these efforts will need to be expanded further and new and innovative approaches will have to be developed. As Secretary General, I am ready to provide all the guidance and support to the ASEAN Foundation in meeting the challenges that lie ahead. It is my hope that eventually the ASEAN Secretariat will be a highly networked Secretariat reaching out not only to our Dialogue partners but also the private sector and civil society in the region and globally.

In conclusion, I would like to again congratulate the ASEAN Foundation on your 10th anniversary and look forward to working closely with you in realizing your visions and goals.

Thank you.