ASEAN CSOs discuss community building efforts at the first Community Forum

10-Mar-2017

Source:  ASEAN Secretariat News

ASEAN CSOs discuss community building efforts at the first Community Forum

SINGAPORE, 10 March 2017 - The first S. Rajaratnam Endowment-ASEAN Community Forum kicked off yesterday morning at the National University of Singapore involving around 50 prominent Civil Society Organisation (CSO) representatives from all ASEAN Member States. At the two-day forum, CSOs across the region discussed ASEAN issues related to rural development, women’s economic development, and Micro-Small-Medium Enterprises. They also explored ways to foster collaboration and networking in order to improve the well-being of the ASEAN peoples, as outlined in ASEAN’s key issues and blueprints.

At the forum, organised by the ASEAN Foundation in partnership with Temasek Foundation Connects which oversees the S Rajaratnam Endowment, Sao Chivoan – the Chair of the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication; Sanchita Basu-Das, lead researcher from the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak; and Rodora Babara, Director of the Human Development Directorate of the ASEAN Secretariat shared the progress on implementing the ASEAN Community Blueprints since the launch of the ASEAN Community in 2015. They also introduced ASEAN processes and mechanisms to highlight how CSOs can engage with ASEAN to support a people-centred and people-oriented ASEAN Community.

Through breakout discussions on thematic topics, CSO participants discussed how ASEAN’s priorities as reflected in the ASEAN Blueprints 2025 impact on the well-being of ASEAN’s people, the challenges on ASEAN integration and how they can be addressed. The CSOs are expected to explore regional collaboration to support the realisation of the ASEAN Community 2025.

“As an ASEAN body, the ASEAN Foundation has been mandated to serve as a platform to forge more people-to-people engagement outside the circle of the inter-governmental institution. This initiative is a strategic approach to embrace CSOs to deepen their understanding and knowledge about the ASEAN Blueprints 2025 and explore how their roles can contribute to supporting the ASEAN Community building efforts,” said Elaine Tan, Executive Director of the ASEAN Foundation.

In supporting the Community Forum, the Chief Executive of Temasek Foundation Connects, Lim Hock Chuan, said “Mr S Rajaratnam was a firm believer in regional cooperation and he had played an active role to entrench ASEAN at the core of the broader regional political architecture. This forum would serve as a platform for key stakeholders to engage one another, forge stronger people-to-people engagement, contribute to the well-being of the ASEAN peoples and work towards a shared ASEAN identity.”

The ‘S. Rajaratnam Endowment – ASEAN Community’ Forums will be organised thrice within March 2017 – April 2018. All three forums aim to promote people’s participation and commitment at the community level to support the realisation of the ASEAN Community 2025.

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