The ASEAN Impact

Posted by AsiaViews | Nov 20, 2017 | 0 |

By Peter Angelo V. Perfecto

The Philippine Daily Inquirer

Nov 18, 2017

As all leaders’ summits go, a declaration caps the meeting often with promises to get the job done better. Our recently concluded ASEAN Leaders Summit was no different as the declaration concluded by saying, “We look to the next 50 years and beyond, confident in our ability to build on our past achievements and address future challenges effectively as one ASEAN Community.”

I don’t think there is any doubt that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has in some ways and forms actually promoted regional cooperation and contributed toward regional peace, progress and prosperity, as aspired for by the 1967 Bangkok Declaration that launched this regional community. Over the past 50 years, the very fact that the community has continued to aspire together and even expanded in number is proof that Bangkok was not a wasted initiative. Today, ASEAN already has “ASEAN-plus” trade agreements with China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand that facilitate trade beyond the region.

Before many of you rant about what-could-have and what-should-have, maybe more and more of us should understand what ASEAN is all about and help tell others what it could potentially achieve to make life better for families even in the region’s remotest areas. We ought to try harder to embrace our “ASEAN-ness,” for one. I see so many cultural bridges that should be uniting us more. I see shared values that make dialogue easier. I see traditions that our nations hold dear that can bind rather than divide.

So, everyone’s first assignment is to read the original Bangkok Declaration and then digest this 50th year’s Manila Declaration. It’s just a google away!

There were a number of other projects and programs that rode with the Asean meetings and activities in the Philippines’ hosting year. One that I think is worth sharing is the ASEAN Impact Challenge, a regional program to discover, encourage and recognize innovators and entrepreneurs in the region. Ten finalist teams were selected from over 300 applications for their contribution toward accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the ASEAN post-2015 development agenda through cross-sector engagements and scaling disruptive innovations.

The chosen startups experienced an intensive 8-week acceleration phase called the “Global Goals Lab” to fine-tune their pitches as well as their goals as social enterprises. This forms part of the ASEAN Impact Challenge program that seeks to identify promising startups in ASEAN and help them scale up.

The finalists included Artemis Health Ecosystem of the Philippines for the Inclusive Healthcare track, Jala of Indonesia (Inclusive Technology), Minh Hong Biotech of Vietnam (Inclusive Business), Uproot Aquaponics of the Philippines (Inclusive Agriculture), Zakat Kasih of Indonesia (Inclusive Finance), Ecoloo of Malaysia (Inclusive Sanitation), Edukasyon.ph of the Philippines (Inclusive Education), Empleo of the Philippines (Inclusive Livelihoods), The Picha Project of Malaysia (Humanitarian Action), and Waste4Change of Indonesia (Inclusive Cities).

Hailed as the top two were Jala, which presented an IoT device that gathers water quality data to help farmers access historical data and analysis to increase yield and minimize risk of harvest failure, and Waste4Change, which focused on a turnkey waste-to-wealth initiative supported by a technology platform enabling everyone to be part of the circle economy. I understand that the Philippines’ Uproot Aquaponics could have also made it with its community-shared aquaponics linking low-income communities to nearby establishments to create an avenue to sell produce and feed their families healthy and nutritious food. I have to brag that the key mover of Uproot Aquaponics is Robi del Rosario, Makati Business Club’s in-house graphics and layout artist!

There is impact happening in the ASEAN community but this can be multiplied exponentially not just by initiatives like the ASEAN Impact Challenge and the leaders’ declaration but also by the peoples of Asean actually getting to know and understand our one ASEAN better. So, go tell the world!

*Peter Angelo V. Perfecto is executive director of the Makati Business Club.

(source: http://opinion.inquirer.net/108810/the-asean-impact)

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EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

The ASEAN Impact