The ASEAN-ERAT Induction Course is finally back!

Thirty-two participants of the 13th ASEAN-ERAT Induction Course joined the Opening Ceremony held on 21 July 2022 in Hua Hin, Thailand.

By the end of the course, these participants will be ready to be deployed to support affected ASEAN Member States in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.

The course is supported by the Government of Japan through the Japan-ASEAN Integration (JAIF) under the project Strengthening ASEAN’s Collective Response Capacity through the Enhancement of the Capacity Building of the Regional ASEAN Emergency Response and Assessment Team (ASEAN-ERAT) (2020 – 2022) which is currently underway.

GO Negosyo, an entrepreneurship advocacy group in the Philippines, aims to foster stronger collaboration with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to continue empowering the country’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that “will be crucial to the recovery of the Philippines from the pandemic,” its founder Jose Maria Concepcion III said in his recent meeting with Trade Secretary. The meeting discussed the continuation of Go Negosyo’s partnership with DTI and possible collaborations to further develop MSMEs.

The meeting agenda also includes the continuation of the ASEAN Mentorship for Entrepreneurship Network (AMEN) Project, which was recently awarded a grant from the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF), according to Concepcion. This, he said, “brings the legacy project of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council–Philippines to its second phase, where small entrepreneurs can scale up to the regional level, and the network of mentors is increased and expanded.”

On 8 July 2022, the Former Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. ABE Shinzo, passed away.

Possessing outstanding leadership and execution ability, Mr. ABE Shinzo, at the risk of his own life, took on the weighty responsibility of being prime minister. He did so over a total of eight years and eight months, the longest period in Japan’s constitutional history.

In terms of supporting the Japan-ASEAN relations, Mr. ABE Shinzo pledged USD 100,000,000 through JAIF 2.0 component to strengthen cooperation for ASEAN integration. JAIF 2.0 is intended to support activities to achieve the objectives of the Vision Statement and its Implementation Plan adopted at the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit in 2013.

Upon hearing the sudden news of his death, we cannot hold back our grief. Here, together with all of you, the Mission of Japan to ASEAN extend heartfelt condolences and pray that he rests in peace.

The ASEAN Corner in Universities is a pilot programme to establish information centres in the libraries of higher education institutions in the ASEAN Member States. The ASEAN Corners will provide authoritative information about ASEAN through multi-media resource collections e.g. books, maps, digital information, language instructions, infographics, periodicals such as The ASEAN magazine, reports, statistics, etc. covering a wide range of topics (political-security, economic, and socio-cultural).

The ASEAN Corners will thus serve as a knowledge hub for students and academics, and further promote ASEAN awareness and identity. Each corner will also have a dedicated computer terminal or handheld device. Those who are interested are encouraged to visit at the Thailand and ASEAN Information Center (TAIC) Central Library on the 6th floor.

The ASEAN Corner in Universities (Phase 1) project is supported by the Government of Japan through the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF). Ten member universities of the ASEAN University Network (AUN) including Chulalongkorn University are participating in this project.

More than 50 participants attended a Book Launch of the ASEAN Institute for Peace & Reconciliation’s (ASEAN-IPR) Research Project, “Aceh Case: Peace Building and Post-Tsunami Recovery”, on Monday, 27 June 2022. The launch was done in hybrid format with in-person participants attending at the Training Centre of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia while those participating virtually joined through Zoom Meeting platform. This is the Institute’s second ever research project and was supported by the Mission of Japan to ASEAN through the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF).

In his opening remarks, the Representative of Indonesia to the ASEAN-IPR Governing Council, H.E Umar Hadi, underlined that the Research’s main objective had been successfully achieved to find the roles of post-humanitarian actors with their further assistance in peacebuilding.

Ambassador of Mission of Japan to ASEAN, H.E CHIBA Akira, highlighted this publication as Japan’s commitment to work closely with ASEAN to promote peace in the region. He underlined that the unprecedented disaster plays a role in building humanitarian approaches to peace and post-conflict resolution. He also highlighted that the implementation and distribution of humanitarian assistance in Aceh could be applied within the region and the world.

A short summary of this event is also posted on ASEAN Institute for Peace & Reconciliation -AIPR Facebook page:

https://web.facebook.com/asean.aipr/posts/pfbid02DFcWazjHhB19Qve9Kkro5bXiGVKP8Vrnf22KfDeZzcJqrMkZctLj4jSKZ9RVbcoUl?_rdc=1&_rdr