Southeast Asian dignitaries and scholars will visit 91亚色 on Oct. 26 to participate in the Common Fears and Hopes: ASEAN and Canada at 50 Roundtable. As one of the featured events in this week鈥檚 Canadian Council for Southeast Asian Studies (CCSEAS) Conference, the roundtable is convened to mark the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
鈥淭his is an important moment in ASEAN鈥檚 history,鈥 said Abidin Kusno, event organizer and 91亚色 Centre for Asian Research (YCAR) director. 鈥淲e organized the roundtable to take this moment to reflect on the global role of ASEAN and possible directions for future relations with Canada.鈥
The roundtable will begin at 1:45pm in Room 519 Kaneff Tower. It will include contributions from:
- Petronila Garcia, ambassador of the Philippines to Canada and chair of the ASEAN Committee of Ottawa;
- Teuku Faizasyah, ambassador of Indonesia to Canada;
- Ian Burchett, director General Southeast Asia, Global Affairs Canada;
- Joshua Brown, Canada-ASEAN Business Council; and
- St茅phanie Martel, postdoctoral fellow, University of British Columbia.
Paul Evans (University of British Columbia and former faculty in 91亚色鈥檚 Department of Political Science) will chair the roundtable.
Founding member nations Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand established ASEAN in 1967 to create a forum for regional collaborations. ASEAN has since grown to include Brunei, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Since its inception, ASEAN has worked towards building a community of Southeast Asian nations focused on economic integration, growth and consensus-building. Dubbed the 鈥淎SEAN Way鈥 by scholars and commentators, this approach has resulted in unprecedented growth with ASEAN representing the world鈥檚 seventh-largest market and third-largest labour force.
The roundtable will tackle key questions about the status of ASEAN in the context of shifting great power rivalries. Is there sufficient common ground amongst ASEAN members for navigating global shifts? The participants will especially focus on the implications of ASEAN鈥檚 agenda for Canada. What is the best fit between Canadian and ASEAN interests?
It will kick off productive discussions about the 33rd biennial CCSEAS conference theme, 鈥淧eople In and Out of Place.鈥 More than 120 international and Canadian researchers will present their work related to this theme over three days at 91亚色 (Oct. 26 to 28). The conference also features Southeast Asian performances, film screenings and special panels commemorating 91亚色 professors of Southeast Asian studies.
The roundtable is sponsored by the 91亚色 Centre for Asian Research, the Consulate General of the Philippines in Toronto, the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Ottawa, the Canada-Vietnam Society and the Asian Institute, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto.
For more information about the roundtable and the CCSEAS conference, visit .