DSCS-ASIA Forum 2022 Manila: Leaders Call for ASEAN Dream Team to Respond to Geopolitical Challenges and Threats of Recession

The Developing Countries Studies Center (DCSC-ASIA) and the ASEAN Studies Association of the Philippines (ASAP) jointly organize the DCSC-ASIA FORUM 2022. The two institutions aim to present leaders’ perspectives in Southeast Asia and how countries respond to contemporary global developments. In the last five years, several significant changes in global dynamics require every country to adjust.

These range from climate change and global warming, slowing economic growth, food security, the end (sunset) of fossil energy, the Covid-19 Pandemic, and most recently, the war in Ukraine. Countries in the region must respond and adapt cohesively and cooperate to ensure ASEAN’s stability and return to a new normalcy. DCSC ASIA FORUM 2022 will be held at The Fairmont Hotel, Makati, Philippines, on November 25, 2022.

Three Sessions, Six Issues

Since 2015, DCSC-ASIA has conducted various studies and seminars and collaborated with several institutions in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. DCSC-ASIA FORUM 2022 aims to discuss the “Challenges, Change, and Sustainability of Global Dynamics and Its Impact on Contemporary Southeast Asia.” This allows us to explore several strategic issues in ASEAN. In this forum, each speaker will share a specific topic based on the challenges encountered in their respective country.

With this, it is hoped that there will be an exchange of views, experiences, best practices, and solutions so that each country can learn from one another, as well as provide avenues of interaction, sharing of different perspectives, and new knowledge to participants and the public. The Forum comprises a panel session and two focus group discussions (FGDs).

Competent Speakers

Participants in this forum include members from the diplomatic community, businesses, academia, and journalists. In line with the spirit of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), which was inaugurated in 2015, participants are expected to be active and interact with each other within and even beyond this event to get to know one another and build lasting relationships.

The Forum will be recorded for publication and distributed via our network across ASEAN.

The four speakers who will attend and offer their perspectives are:

  • Prof. Dr. Hj. Sylviana Murni, S.H., M.Si, Member of Parliament of The Republic of Indonesia (Jakarta Senator)
  • Clarita Carlos, Ph.D., National Security Adviser, Republic of the Philippines
  • Pichit Virankabutra, Deputy Director of the Creative Economy Agency (CEA) of Thailand
  • Dato Mohamad Razif bin Haji Abd Mubin, Deputy Secretary General (Energy) at the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (KeTSA), Malaysia.

Panel Discussion

Mrs. Sylvi will present the topic, “Unraveling the Problem of Densely Populated Cities: The Experience of Jakarta and Future Plans.”

As host, Dr. Carlos will share her thoughts on “The Threat of the Global Food Crisis: The Philippines’ Strategy to Safeguard the Food Supply Chain.”

From Malaysia, Mr. Razif will discuss the “Global Energy Crisis and Stages Towards Sustainable Energy: Perspectives from Malaysia.”

Lastly, Mr. Virankabutra will discuss Thailand’s experiences in “The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Thai Tourism Industry: How It Survived, and What the Future Holds”.

Focus Group Discussions

This full-day Forum consists of two sessions. Session 1 is a Panel Discussion moderated by Maria Sarjana from CNN Indonesia. Session 2 is two FGDs that allow speakers to have more in-depth discussions and interactions with participants. The FGDs will be divided into two groups, with two speakers per group.

The topics in the FGDs are also more dynamic, namely, in Room 1, “Encouraging Sustainable Development in ASEAN: A Need Amidst an Increasingly Unbalanced World Situation.”The speakers in this FGD are Secretary Carlos and Mrs. Sylviana.

While in Room 2, Mr. Razif and Mr. Virankabutra will discuss “Strengthening Economic Digitization in the Southeast Asia Region: Challenges and Opportunities.” Generally, the speakers agreed that ASEAN, as a family, must strengthen itself and cooperate. Several speakers even emphasized the need for an ASEAN dream team to safeguard the common interests of Southeast Asian countries. The forum was attended by more than one hundred participants from business, diplomats, and academics. They also asked DCSC-ASIA to prepare a similar conference in the coming year. See you at DCSC-ASIA FORUM 2023!

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