LUANG PRABANG, 24 March 2024 – The 31st ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Council Meeting was convened today and attended by ministers and representatives from ASEAN Member States, including Timor-Leste as Observer, and the Secretary-General of ASEAN. The meeting deliberated on ASCC chairmanship priorities in 2024, and strategic directions for the ASCC especially in light of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045.
Minister of Information, Culture, and Tourism of Lao PDR and the ASCC Council Chair, Suanesavanh Vignaket, highlighted the timeliness of Lao PDR’s ASEAN 2024 Chairmanship theme, “ASEAN: Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience”, on promoting the role of culture and arts for inclusion and sustainability, promoting environmental cooperation and climate change resilience, promoting the role of women and children towards the transformation of behaviourism in ASEAN, and transforming ASEAN health resilience.
During the meeting, Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, commended the establishment of the Ad Hoc Working Group to Develop the ASCC Post-2025 Strategic Plan. He underscored the importance of ensuring that ASEAN Pillars and ASEAN Connectivity strategic plans leverage on past achievements, and its development should follow a standard, systematic and synergised process. Dr. Kao also highlighted key ASCC matters that will need collective actions from the ASCC in further advancing the well-being and quality of life of the people of ASEAN.
The meeting endorsed nine outcome documents for adoption and notation by the ASEAN Leaders at the 43rd and 44th ASEAN Summits in October 2024. Two outcome documents for adoption are the Vang Vieng Declaration on Promoting Small and Medium-sized Cultural Enterprises aligned with the Green Growth for Sustainable Development, and the Framework on ASEAN Public Health Emergency Coordination System.
The ASCC Council Ministers also had an interface with ministers of the ASCC Sectoral Bodies of Lao PDR. The interface exchanged views and recommendations on charting the ASCC’s future post-2025 and identified ways and approaches in enhancing ASCC’s preparedness amidst emerging challenges, trends, and opportunities.
The launch of the ASCC Database for Monitoring and Evaluation (ADME) System by the ASCC Council Chair and Secretary-General of ASEAN was held at the side-lines of the meeting. The ADME System will contribute to the improvement of timely collection and measurement of socio-cultural indicators and enable ASEAN Member States to conduct more comprehensive and regular monitoring and evaluation of the ASCC Blueprint 2025 and the ASCC Post-2025 Strategic Plan.
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