The Role of Education in Building the ASEAN Community by 2015 Views - - PDF document

2/23/2009 1

1st Regional Seminar on Education to Achieve ASEAN Caring and Sharing Community g g y

23‐25 February 2009, Bangkok, Thailand

• Dr. Anish Kumar Roy

Director of Bureau for Resources Development p The ASEAN Secretariat

The Role of Education in Building the ASEAN Community by 2015

• Views of the ASEAN Ministers of Education (1st

ASED, March 2006):

Education sector should not be viewed solely under the ASCC pillar. Education, by developing human resources, permeates through all the three pillars of the ASEAN Community in enhancing competitiveness

• f individual Member States as well as ASEAN as a

region. Hence, education sector plays an important role and immense contribution to building a sense of ASEANness towards the realization of an ASEAN Community.

2/23/2009 2

The Role of Education in Building the ASEAN Community by 2015

• ASEAN Charter (Article 1, para 10):

T d l h h h l To develop human resources through closer cooperation in education and life‐long learning, and in science and technology, for the empowerment of the peoples of ASEAN and for the strengthening of the ASEAN Community.

• ASEAN Community is built on 3 pillars:

– ‐ Political – ‐ Economic – ‐ Socio‐Cultural

• How can the education sector play a key role

How can the education sector play a key role in building the ASEAN Community by 2015?

2/23/2009 3

Role in political pillar

• Higher educational institutions to be the think

tanks that support the governments in policy tanks that support the governments in policy making

• Educational leaders in our region should think

ASEAN in their visions and strategies

• Socializing the ASEAN Anthem and observance
• f ASEAN Day, 8 August

Role in Economic Pillar

• The ASEAN Charter, article 1, para 5:

One of the purposes of ASEAN is to create a single market and production base which is stable, prosperous, highly competitive and economically integrated with among others economically integrated with, among others, facilitate movement of business persons, professionals, talents and labour.

2/23/2009 4

Role in Economic Pillar

Supply meets the demand:

• Universities to produce competitive human

resources with market‐relevant skills

• Universities adaptive to the new market needs

and opportunities

• Educational institutions to be competitive in
• Educational institutions to be competitive in

global setting

Role in Socio‐Cultural Pillar

• The ASEAN Charter, article 1, para 14:

One of the purposes of ASEAN is to promote an ASEAN identity through the fostering of greater awareness of the diverse culture and heritage of the region

2/23/2009 5

Role in Socio‐Cultural Pillar

Education sector can play an important role and immense contribution to: and immense contribution to:

• Building a sense of ASEANness
• Promoting appreciation for multicultural

sensibilities and for deepening an ASEAN identity

Building an ASEAN Identity

• An ASEAN identity should be premised on the

region’s history, rich cultural capital and region s history, rich cultural capital and

• diversity. The region as a storehouse of

cultural ideas and practices remains largely untapped as a resource in education and school curricula.

• Education at different levels should be
• Education, at different levels, should be

utilised to highlight the history and wealth of Southeast Asian cultures to younger citizens.

~Unity in diversity ~

2/23/2009 6

Concept of ASEAN identity

Reiterating the recommendation of the Conference on "The Role of Education in Building Conference on The Role of Education in Building an ASEAN Socio‐Cultural Community“, January 2007, Singapore (organised by ISEAS):

• An ASEAN identity should be strong and distinct

enough to respond to the homogenising effects

• f globalisation
• f globalisation.
• The concept of an ASEAN identity should be

dynamic and changing, instead of fixed or static.

Concept of ASEAN identity

(Continued)

• The engagement of younger Southeast Asian
• The engagement of younger Southeast Asian

citizens in the identity building process is vital. More should be done to promote culture from the ground.

• Southeast Asia needs to promote its own brand

f lt Ed ti l i tit ti

• f pop culture. Educational institutions are

needed to heighten the profile of Southeast Asia popular culture in order to engage the region’s youth (ASEAN Idol?)

2/23/2009 7

What ASEAN has been doing: APSC

• Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS):

T ti l t h d d b t ithi h l l – To stimulate research and debate within scholarly circles – To enhance public awareness of the region – To facilitate the search for viable solutions to the varied problems confronting the region.

• Need for more research‐based educational

institutes in ASEAN focusing on ASEAN issues

What ASEAN has been doing: AEC

• The AUN: strengthen the network among

ASEAN i iti t ti l i i ASEAN universities to continuously improving the qualities of faculty, teaching, research and students

– Quality assurance self assessments – Towards an ASEAN Credit Transfer System y – Student and faculty exchanges – Joint researches

2/23/2009 8

What ASEAN has been doing: ASCC

• Assessment on ASEAN curriculum in primary and

secondary schools: aimed at forging and strengthening secondary schools: aimed at forging and strengthening the ASEAN regional identity

• M.A. in ASEAN Studies (Univ of Malaya)
• ASEAN Schools Tours (2007, 2008)
• ASEAN youth volunteers sent to Myanmar for Cyclone

Nargis humanitarian work

• ASEAN Youth Award
• Ten Accomplished Youth Organisations in ASEAN (TAYO)
• ASEAN University Student Conferences

2007 ASEAN Awareness Survey

• Supported by the ASEAN Foundation & ISEAS

S 2 000 t d t i k

• Survey among 2,000 students in key

universities in Member States;

• Questions to measure (a) their attitudes

towards ASEAN as a whole, (b) knowledge and

• rientation about the region and the

A i ti ( ) f i f ti b t Association,(c) source of information about the region, and (d) aspirations for regional integration and cooperation.

2/23/2009 9

2007 ASEAN Awareness Survey

Highlights of the Survey Results: ‐ Overall, students from around the region are positive about , g p ASEAN ‐ Over 75% agreed that they felt themselves to be citizens of ASEAN ‐ Nearly 70% felt that ASEAN was beneficial to them personally ‐ Most students rated themselves as very familiar or somewhat familiar with ASEAN in general somewhat familiar with ASEAN in general ‐ Most enthusiastic attitudes are found in the least affluent and most recent Member States (CLMV), while those from

• ther Member States considered ASEAN was already “old

news” (or worse yet, “boring history”)

Question to ponder: ‐ What is the general attitude of our young generation towards ASEAN? ‐ Why ASEAN is considered “old news” or “boring history” among students in ASEAN‐6? What can educational institutes do about it? ‐ What can educational institutes do about it?

2/23/2009 10

General observation

• The education sector has a great potential to be an

agent of change in and for ASEAN to be a people‐ agent of change in and for ASEAN to be a people

• riented Community
• Has educational institutes in the region maximized the

ASEAN cooperation for their benefit?

• Has ASEAN provided wide opportunities for

educational institutes to participate in and benefit from the process of ASEAN integration and community building?

Thank you! www.asean.org