ASEAN Bulletin
March
2009
- Teachers and Students of “Triguna” Elementary
School Visit the ASEAN Secretariat , ASEAN Secretariat, 25 March 2009
- Teachers and Students of Singapore International School Visit the ASEAN Secretariat
ASEAN Secretariat, 19 March 2009
- Using ICT to Promote the ASEAN
Spirit, Bangkok, 18 March 2009
- International Programme “ASEAN in
Today’s World” Opens in Mahidol University, Thailand, Thailand,
17 March 2009
- The ASEAN-Korea Centre Opens Today
in Seoul, ASEAN Secretariat, 13 March 2009
- InWEnt Alumni covers 14th ASEAN
Summit and ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, ASEAN
Secretariat, 12 March 2009
- Post ASEAN Summit Briefing for the
Diplomatic Corps in Jakarta, ASEAN Secretariat, 11 March 2009
- ASEAN Awareness Workshop, Yangon, 6
March 2009
- The 14th ASEAN Summit Comes to a Close, ASEAN Secretariat, 1 March 2009
- Post-Summit Briefing by Dr Surin Pitsuwan,
Secretary-General of ASEAN, ASEAN Secretariat, 1 March 2009
Teachers and Students of “Triguna” Elementary
School Visit the ASEAN Secretariat
ASEAN Secretariat, 25 March 2009
Five teachers and forty elementary students aged
11 to 12 of the “Triguna” Elementary School, Jakarta, went on an
excursion to the ASEAN Secretariat yesterday. During the
one-and-a-half-hour session, they were shown a video of the ASEAN
Community cartoon and introduced to ASEAN and the ten ASEAN Member
States. The students also had a chance to test their knowledge on
ASEAN by participating in a fun quiz. They expressed their wishes
for a prosperous ASEAN. Some of the questions they posed were, “What
does the ASEAN Community mean?” and “Why are Timor Leste and Papua
New Guinea not members of ASEAN?”. When asked what they would do if
they were the ASEAN Secretary-General, one student answered, “I will
build many schools and health centres for poor people in the
villages”.
Before they left, the school was presented with
some ASEAN publications for their library collection.
Posted on
25 March 2009
Teachers and Students of Singapore International School Visit the ASEAN Secretariat
ASEAN Secretariat, 19 March 2009
Four teachers and twenty elementary students aged 11 to 12 years old of the Singapore International School of Bandung, West Java, went on an excursion to the ASEAN Secretariat today.
During the one-hour long session, they were shown a video of the ASEAN Community cartoon and introduced to ASEAN and the ten ASEAN Member States. The students also had a chance to test their knowledge on ASEAN by participating in a fun quiz.
Before they left, the school was presented with some ASEAN publications for their library collection.
Posted on
19 March 2009
Using ICT to Promote the ASEAN Spirit
Bangkok, 18 March 2009
Seminar participants posing for a group
photograph
Forty participants from ASEAN Member States,
comprising youths, policy-makers and practitioners from private
companies in Information, Communication and Technology sector,
gathered in Bangkok, Thailand from 18-19 March 2009, for the
"Seminar on Usage of ICT to Promote ASEAN Spirit”.
The two-day seminar aims to develop ASEAN spirit
among the youth in the region by using ICT as a mechanism. It will
provide a platform for the participants to design techniques and
strategies on the use of ICT to promote the ASEAN spirit. As part of
the seminar, participants will visit the National Electronics and
Computer Technology Center and Thailand’s Science Park.
The Seminar is an ASEAN Committee on Culture and
Information project.
Posted on
18 March 2009
International Programme “ASEAN in Today’s World”
Opens in Mahidol University, Thailand
Thailand, 17 March 2009
Dr Surin with Presidents and Representatives of the 8
participating Universities from the region (last row) and students
participating in the programme (first and second row)
A three-week international programme on Asian
languages and cultures and ASEAN studies titled “ASEAN in Today’s
World” was launched yesterday at the Salaya Campus of Mahidol
University in Thailand. This programme is jointly organised by
Mahidol University and Kyushu University with the support of the
ASEAN Secretariat.
Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN who
was invited to the Opening Ceremony of the programme, said, “ASEAN
needs the cooperation of all stakeholders in building its Community
that is people-oriented”. He added, “We need to provide a wider
opportunity for the young generation to learn about ASEAN on the
world’s stage and the recognition given by the world to ASEAN.”
Besides Dr Surin, Clinical Prof Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn, President
of Mahidol University; Dr Setsuo Arikawa, President of Kyushu
University; and Mr Yuji Kumamaru, Minister of the Japanese Embassy
to Thailand, also delivered remarks at the Opening Ceremony.
Twenty-four university students from Brunei
Darussalam, China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Philippines,
Thailand and Viet Nam were selected to participate in the programme
on a full or partial scholarship from the organisers. The programme
will expose them to the current affairs in the region, including
public health, global AIDS epidemic, environment and crisis
management, as well as introduce them to Asian languages and
cultures. The programme ends on 2 April 2009.
Details of the programme are available at http://www.isc.kyushu-u.ac.jp/astw/
Posted on
13 March 2009
The ASEAN-Korea Centre Opens Today in Seoul
ASEAN Secretariat, 13 March 2009
The ASEAN-Korea Centre was officially opened
today in Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea (ROK). The
Opening Ceremony was attended by Dr Han Seung-soo, Prime Minister of
the ROK; Mr Yu Myung-hwan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of
the ROK; Mr Kasit Piromya, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand;
Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri, Deputy Foreign Minister of Malaysia; Mr
Sayakane Sisouvong, Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Political and
Security Community, council members of the ASEAN-Korea Centre,
Members of Parliament of the ROK and representatives from the
academia and media.
The Centre will promote trade, investment,
tourism and cultural exchanges between ASEAN and ROK.
ASEAN and the ROK are celebrating their 20th
anniversary of dialogue relations this year. A commemorative summit
is being planned for June this year.
Please click
here for the Congratulatory Address
by Mr Sayakane Sisouvong.
Posted on
13 March 2009
InWEnt Alumni covers 14th ASEAN Summit and ASEAN
Business and Investment Summit
ASEAN Secretariat, 12 March 2009
A journalist from Indonesia in action
A group of 14 journalists from seven ASEAN Member
States took part in a one-week conference reporting of the 14th
ASEAN Summit and the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit from 25
February to 1 March 2009 in Bangkok and Cha-am in Thailand
respectively.
Participants had the chance to conduct exclusive
interviews with Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN;
Rodolfo C. Severino, former Secretary-General of ASEAN; Baron Paul
von Maltzahn, German Ambassador to ASEAN and Indonesia; Jan-Willem
Blankert, Special Adviser for ASEAN Affairs attached to the EC
Delegation in Jakarta; and, Philippe Zeller, French Ambassador to
ASEAN and Indonesia.
The journalists came from Cambodia, Indonesia,
Lao PDR, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. They had taken
part in a media training programme organised by the International
Institute for Journalism of InWEnt with the support of the ASEAN
Secretariat to help journalists better understand ASEAN, among other
things. The training is part of the project that aims to strengthen
the ASEAN Secretariat in promoting and facilitating the
implementation of the ASEAN Charter and regional cooperation and
integration among the ASEAN Member States.
This programme is sponsored by the Federal
Foreign Office on behalf of the Government of the Federal Republic
of Germany.
Posted on
12 March 2009
Post ASEAN Summit Briefing for the Diplomatic
Corps in Jakarta
ASEAN Secretariat, 11 March 2009
Members of the Diplomatic Corps and international
organisations in Jakarta were briefed on the outcomes of the 14th
ASEAN Summit in Thailand this morning. The briefing, which took
place at the ASEAN Secretariat, was given by Deputy
Secretary-General Soeung Rathchavy, DSG for ASEAN Socio-Cultural
Community, Deputy Secretary-General Pushpanathan Sundram, DSG for
ASEAN Economic Community, and Deputy Secretary-General Sayakane
Sisouvong, DSG for ASEAN Political-Security Community. During the
question and answer session, participants asked about the AEC
scorecard, the Committee of Permanent Representatives, the ASEAN
human rights body and the environment, among other things.
The outcome documents of the 14th ASEAN Summit
can be found here.
Posted on
11 March 2009
ASEAN Awareness Workshop
Yangon, 6 March 2009
Thirty-four participants, comprising staff of the
Yangon-based Coordinating Office for the ASEAN Humanitarian Task
Force for Cyclone Nargis, hub officers, hub assistants and ASEAN
volunteers, gathered today in Yangon for a one-day ASEAN Awareness
Workshop. The workshop was organised to increase their understanding
of ASEAN so that they would be able to share that knowledge and
promote the awareness of ASEAN among the local communities they
operate in.
The workshop was divided into two sessions. The
first part was conducted by staff from the ASEAN Secretariat who
spoke on the history and current developments in ASEAN, the ASEAN
Secretariat as well as the ASEAN Charter. Ice-breaking and
team-building exercises were also conducted with the participants.
The second session involved a tour to the National Museum of Myanmar
to learn more about the history of the country.
Staff of the Coordinating Office and Hub Offices
and ASEAN volunteers come from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam.
_______________
Note:
The ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force for the Victims
of Cyclone Nargis was established by the ASEAN Foreign Ministers of
ASEAN on 19 May 2008. The Task Force consists of senior-level
representatives from the ten ASEAN countries. Under this ASEAN-led
mechanism, a Yangon-based Tripartite Core Group comprising
representatives from the Government of Myanmar, ASEAN and the United
Nations was set up on 31 May 2008. The ASEAN Foreign Ministers at
the recently concluded 14th ASEAN Summit agreed to extend the
mandate of the ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force and the Tripartite Core
Group until July 2010.
To further strengthen coordination at the
township level, the TCG agreed in August 2008 to set up Hub Offices
in the Nargis-affected townships. There are currently four Hub
Offices. The ASEAN volunteers, who come from the various ASEAN
countries, work on projects in the townships.
Posted on
9 March 2009
The 14th ASEAN Summit Comes to a Close
ASEAN Secretariat, 1 March 2009
The 14th ASEAN Summit officially comes to a close
today with two statements from Cha- am Hua Hin, Thailand:
This afternoon, ASEAN Heads of State and
Government also signed the Cha-am Hua Hin Declaration on the Roadmap
for an ASEAN Community (2009-2015) and adopted these documents:
The ASEAN Petroleum Security Agreement was also
signed under the witness of the Leaders.
For soft copies of the above documents, please
click here.
For a list of the economic agreements that were
signed during the 14th ASEAN Summit, please click
here.
While the ASEAN Summit has come to a close, Dr
Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN, will keep the channel of
communication open to the peoples of ASEAN. He will be interacting
with participants spread across eight ASEAN Member States on GDLN’s
video-conference facilities. A live broadcast of the briefing will
be available at 210.137.74.228 (on 2 March 2009, Monday from 10:00am
to 11:30am).
Posted on
1 March 2009
Post-Summit Briefing by Dr Surin Pitsuwan,
Secretary-General of ASEAN
ASEAN Secretariat, 1 March 2009
Following the conclusion of the 14th ASEAN Summit
today, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN, will give an
overview of the major outcomes from the Summit on 2 March 2009
(Monday), 10:00am – 11:30am.
Speaking from the Chulalongkorn University in
Bangkok, Dr Surin will interact with members of the public, media,
civil society, private sector, academia and international
organisations in eight countries - Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR,
Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam – using the
Global Learning Development Network (GDLN)’s video-conference
facilities.
A video streaming of the briefing is available at
210.137.74.228 (on 2 March 2009 from 10:00am to 11:30am).
This Post-Summit Briefing is organised by the
ASEAN Secretariat in collaboration with World Bank and GDLN in the
Asia Pacific.
Posted on
1 March 2009
