JAKARTA, 27 August 2024 – The Regional Consultations with Stakeholders to Develop the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Post-2025 Strategic Plan took place from 26-27 August 2024 at the ASEAN Secretariat/ASEAN Headquarters, back-to-back with the 6th Ad Hoc Working Group Meeting to develop the ASCC Post-2025 Strategic Plan.
Four regional consultations, with the Senior Officials Committee for the ASCC (SOCA), the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR), the Dialogue Partners including Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, and the External Partners including Morocco, Norway, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Peru, International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Secretariat, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), yielded insights for consideration in the development of the ASCC Post-2025 Strategic Plan.
In their opening remarks during the four regional consultations, the Co-Chairs ––– Khamphou Phiasackha, Deputy Director-General of Planning and International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism of the Lao PDR and Dr. Christina Yeo Ken Yin, Under Secretary, International Relations Division (Culture), Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture of Malaysia ––– reiterated the critical role of stakeholder engagements and their inputs in shaping the ASCC’s future. They expressed optimism for deeper ties through the implementation of cooperation frameworks, projects, and activities that supports the ASCC Blueprint 2025, and, shortly, the ASCC Post-2025 Strategic Plan.
The Regional Consultations identified several key regional and global trends that will impact ASEAN and the ASCC, including technological advancements and artificial intelligence, climate change, demographic shifts, and geopolitical changes. The Regional Consultations with the stakeholders also emphasised the need for the ASCC to remain adaptable and agile in order to navigate emerging challenges and ensure long-term relevance in the global strategic architecture. The importance of ensuring consistent communication, alignment, and relevance across different ASCC pillars and sectors to achieve long-term impact was a common theme during the regional consultations.
Further, the discussions emphasised the need to innovate and scale up communication and engagement strategies to reach a wider audience and foster stronger stakeholder participation. The discussions looked at the importance of strategic communication and sustained efforts to promote awareness of ASEAN and the ASCC to the public and a wide audience. The discussions also highlighted the importance of effective monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to track the progress and impact of ASCC initiatives including the socialisation of the recently-launched ASCC Database for Monitoring and Evaluation (ADME).
The regional consultations were part of a series of stakeholder engagement activities organised by the ASCC to support the development of the ASCC Post-2025 Strategic Plan. It aimed to provide a platform for the Ad Hoc Working Group to Develop the ASCC Post-2025 Strategic Plan to exchange views, perspectives and insights as well as recommendations on ASCC beyond 2025, and explore potential mechanisms for cooperation and collaboration in advancing the goal of the ASCC.
The regional consultations are part of the activities of “Supporting the Development of the ASCC Post-2025 Strategic Plan” Project supported by the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) 3.0.
