Karen Anne at ASEFYLS SG2

Karen Anne at ASEFYLS

by with No Comment ActivatorHomepage

The Asia Europe Foundation (ASEF) Youth Leadership Summit is a signature program for the Asia Europe Foundation in establishing the gap and connections between the young aspiring leaders of Asia and Europe in tackling the prevalent issues of the society. This year, the ASEF will hold its 5th Youth Leadership Summit in Salamanca Spain this September 12-16, 2023. The open calls for delegates across Asia and Europe will end this July 09, 2023. The ASEFYLS will be tackling about leadership and the future society that we will have which is coined with the term of Society 5.0.

In order to provide the best experience for the future delegates, the ASEF provided a capacity training towards the facilitators and navigators of the said summit. This year, the ASEF selected 20 participants across Asia and Europe to become a navigator in the upcoming summit. The navigators have diverse experience and background in different sectors and have several experiences working with the ASEF already. The ASEFYLS Navigators Training was held in Singapore last June 21-25, 2023. The trainings were mostly conducted under the Asia Europe Foundation Office in 31 Heng Mui Keng Terrace, Singapore. The program consists of trainings regarding leadership, program management, networking with alumni and fellow ASEF leaders from the past, establishing healthy communications and collaborative teamwork with a diverse people and introduction to Society 5.0.

Karen Anne, the Program Director of ASEAN Youth Organization had a chance to attend the the Navigators Training in Singapore and met the other Young Leaders from Europe and Asia. The program took around 5 days to learn about Leaderships. 

 

Activities report by Karen Anne;

1. June 21, 2023

During the first day of the program, most of the participants including me have arrived in Singapore before 4:00 PM (GMT +8). Everyone is responsible to come to the hotel on their preferred transportation. The organizers have included ways on how to come to the hotel coming from the Changi Airport of Singapore. Hence, the program organizers did not include much activities on the first day as others came from the European countries. At 5:00 PM, most of the navigators arrived in V Hotel Bencoleen and was welcomed by the ASEF Team including Miss Freya Chow Paul and Miss Reka Tozsa. During the evening, the ASEF hosted a welcoming dinner in YWCA Café Lodge near the hotel to formally welcome everyone in Singapore. Furthermore, Miss Freya have also provided us the train cards to use as our transportation in going to several destinations included in the program.

2. June 22, 2023

Moving forward to the second day of the program, the official start of the navigators training transpired in the ASEF Office near National University Singapore. During the second day, we have the opportunity to meet and hear inspiring words from Mr. Toru Morikawa the executive director of the ASEF, Miss Reka Tozsa, the director for education department and Ms. Freya Chow-Paul the program coordinator of the education department of ASEF. In the second day of the program, the ASEF invited Mr. Anand Chandrasekar, a leadership solutions specialist in in Center for Creative leadership. During the program, Mr. Anand tackle about defining leadership and how to handle diverse group, practicing how to listen and create a space for everyone to voice out their opinions. Additionally, Mr. Anand also tackle how to effectively delegate tasks to the team and setting healthy boundaries on accepting the necessary workload and lessening the tasks that we do not need to prioritize. Furthermore, he have also provided talks regarding accountability and keeping everyone intact during the program and how to lead a group that we are handling. During the training program, he also had several activities to further nourish us with the wisdom and practice the insights together as a navigator of the program. To wrap up the second day, the ASEF team toured us around the Marina Bay and Gardens by the Bay during the evening to explore Singapore outside of our training and enjoy the whole stay there.

3. June 23, 2023

During the third day of the program, the ASEF team provided us a background on the topic that we will be talking about during the actual summit. During this day, Dr. Paul Wang of NEC Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, talked about the concept of Society 5.0, which is coined by the Japanese wherein we see the future generation run forward by the technology. During the third day, we had an opportunity to have a roundtable dialogue about 5.0 with Ms. Geraldine LAM, the CEO of Social Impact Catalyst, Miss Liana Tang, Director of Digital Strategy Office in Ministry of Communications and Information in Singapore. The roundtable dialogue was moderated by Mr. Michael Klemm, the founder and managing director of Singapore Education Network. During the roundtable dialogue, the speakers discussed about future proofing society and tackling the role of technology in addressing social challenges, establishing multisector collaboration and providing solutions with the help of technology and the roles of the civil society in the Society 5.0.

Precedingly after lunch, we had the opportunity to have Junior-Senior Leadership Dialogues with the ASEF Governors including Ms. Angela Robinson, Australian High Commission in Singapore, Ambassador Colette Taquet, Embassy of Belgium in Singapore, High Commissioner Rukhsana Afzaal of Pakistan, Ambassador Michaela Fronkova of Czech Republic, Ambassador Judit Pach of Hungary, Ms. Jenny Egermark of Embassy of Sweden in Singapore and Mr. Joel Henri Brunner of Embassy of Switzerland in Singapore. During the Junior-Senior leadership dialogue, all of us navigators had an opportunity to discuss the qualities that we look for in a leader, the role of technology in society and sharing the insights of the current situation of our countries and how much are we willing to accept technology in our present needs and innovations of the respective countries as well.

4. June 24, 2023

On the fourth day of the program, the ASEF team invited Mr. Henrik Pap from the Organization Development Consultant, wherein he discussed about Design Thinking or also known as Design4x. During his session, there were a lot of training sessions where it allowed me to think effectively on how to launch a program or a product that we might want to launch for an organization. It taught us to be patient and further train ourselves to be very specific in what we want and the goals we wanted to achieve. During the whole session, we have observed what works and what does not work in collaborating with other nationalities, most especially those coming from the other region. The program was effective when it comes to dealing with pressure and creating a concept or project ideas and how to further develop it in the upcoming steps.

5. June 25, 2023

At the last day of the training program, the ASEF Organizers hosted a cultural facilitation for the navigators to further understand each other with regards to values and norms our respective country has. It allowed us to learn more about the cultural differences of our country and shared a deep connection with everyone as we get to understand them in a deeper sense. The program ended at 12:00 and everyone was set to departure back to their countries or to their respective errands.

 

III. Inclusion of the package for the participants

Travel Package and Insurance.
As for the inclusions of the package for the navigators, the ASEF provided the following

  • Hotel Accommodation (June 21-25). All of us shared the twin bedroom with fellow navigators as well. Furthermore, the ASEF made sure that we will be sharing with the same gender and would be coming from the opposite region. Hence, I was staying in the room with a navigator from Austria.
  • The navigators were also provided the round trip flights to Singapore and a travel insurance. Furthermore, they also allotted allowance for the transportation from Changi Airport to Hotel and vice versa. Additionally, the lunch and coffee breaks in between the program are covered by the ASEF Team. Some dinners were also hosted by the ASEF team but not all of it.
  • The ASEF Team have also provided us train cards with allowance that are already sufficient for the travel destinations that we will be visiting during the said days.

ASEAN Youth Organization cooperate with many international organization and institutions and received invitations to attend meetings or events all around the world. We open this opportunities to our active Activator members. So, the more you contribute to ASEAN Youth Organization, the more opportunities you will get. Happy Volunteering with us! 

Towards Sustainable Tourism in ASEAN

by with No Comment EnvironmentTravel

Planes parked idly on runways. Borders shut. Once bustling streets and shops are eerily empty and quiet. Travel has come to a halt as the Covid-19 pandemic rages on relentlessly. 

In envisioning a post-pandemic world, many conversations have been focusing on rethinking the future of work and rebooting ravaged economies. An important but often missing theme is reimagining the way we travel. 

Tourism Growth in ASEAN – A Victim of Its Own Success?  

Among other factors, a booming middle class, proliferation of low-cost carriers, and increased air connectivity have resulted in an increase in the number of visitors to ASEAN. In 2019, ASEAN recorded 133 million tourist arrivals, a 7% increase compared to the previous year. According to the World Tourism Organization, the total international visitors to ASEAN is estimated to hit 152 million by 2025 and 187 million by 2030. 

A growing tourism sector contributes to GDP and economic growth. Travel and tourism accounted for 12.1% of Southeast Asia’s GDP in 2019, second only to the Caribbean at 13.9%. For Thailand, Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy and most visited country, the tourism industry made up about 20% of its economy last year.

Source: World Travel & Tourism Council 

Besides creating jobs, revitalizing local businesses and drawing capital investments, tourism facilitates cross-cultural exchanges and a better understanding of societies, thus strengthening empathy and people-to-people relations. 

However, the adverse impact of unfettered tourism is slowly being felt. Famous pristine beaches in the region are affected by environmental degradation caused, in part, by a surge in tourism. In 2018, the Philippines government shut Boracay for six months for environment rehabilitation. Maya Bay in Thailand has been closed to tourists since 2018 to restore the marine environment after years of unchecked mass tourism led to the destruction of corals. Indonesian authorities are imposing a US$10 tourist tax on foreign visitors to Bali to protect its environment.   

[insert BBC News video “Maya Bay: The beach nobody can touch”; link here]       

Source: BBC                                                                        

Sustainable Tourism: An Imperative 

In recent years, “sustainability” or “sustainable development” has become a buzzword. In 2015, 193 UN Member States officially adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Source: United Nations

Although tourism is not explicitly included as one of the SDGs, it is interconnected – directly and indirectly – to all the SDGs. Consider the cross-cutting impact of rural communities offering homestay accommodation to tourists to generate or supplement income on Goal 1 – No Poverty and Goal 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth. Or, to bring in more tourists, industries may accelerate building safe and reliable infrastructure such as transportation systems (Goal 9) and ensuring supplies of clean water (Goal 6). 

What is sustainable tourism? It is defined by the World Tourism Organization as “tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.”

In other words, tourism-driven growth should not be achieved at the expense of the well-being of people and the planet.

An ASEAN Solution

Recognizing this, the ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan 2016-2025 outlines the vision for ASEAN tourism: “By 2025, ASEAN will be a quality tourism destination offering a unique, diverse ASEAN experience, and will be committed to responsible, sustainable, inclusive and balanced tourism development, so as to contribute significantly to the socio-economic well-being of ASEAN people.”

Actions to ensure sustainable tourism development in ASEAN under the strategic plan include prioritizing protection and management of cultural and heritage assets, and increasing awareness and responsiveness to environmental protection and climate change. 

Specifically, some of these involve undertaking impact assessment of existing cultural and heritage sites in ASEAN, sharing best practices, revising guidelines to incorporate environment and climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience, and continuing dialogue with relevant official bodies and stakeholders. 

You Can Play a Part

You may be wondering – how can we, as young individuals, do our part in striving towards sustainable tourism?

Source: UNWTO

Here are some practical and non-exhaustive travel guidelines to live by. Every action, no matter how small, can make a difference. 

  • Consider domestic tourism (which can be just as rewarding as international travel). There could be interesting sights and tastes in your own backyard that you have yet to discover. Good for your wallet, too. 
  • Do your research and choose airlines, accommodation and tour operators that are certified in, or committed to, sustainable practices. 
  • Choose taking public transportation over renting a private car to minimize your carbon footprint, where possible. Walking and cycling are healthy and affordable ways to discover the nooks and crannies and hidden charms of a locality. 
  • Travel to popular destinations during the off-season to reduce the strain on the infrastructure and environment. 
  • Respect and follow local regulations to preserve its culture and environment. 
  • Buy carbon offsets to compensate for your carbon footprint by reducing emissions elsewhere. 
  • Engage in education and advocacy. 

One of the silver linings of Covid-19 is that it has given the natural environment a respite. In some areas, the air is cleaner, murky canals are clearer, and wildlife has returned to its natural habitats. An unprecedented time such as this also offers us an opportunity for introspection. Let’s travel in a meaningful and sustainable manner and leave behind a world worth exploring for the generations after us.

Written by Josephine Lee

Josephine is a content writer for ASEAN Youth Organization. Born and bred in Singapore, she is curious about history, cultures and languages. Besides being fluent in English and Mandarin, she speaks a smattering of Japanese and Korean. An aspiring sustainability professional, she believes the grass is greener where you water it. 

ASEAN Youth’s Role to Combat Academic-centered Sexual Assault

by with No Comment EducationGender

Fear and concern over sexual violence are among the biggest problems that youths, especially college students, have to endure in Indonesia. In a supposedly safe place to pursue education, students have faced many sexual assault and violence cases for years. Many of these cases remain unreported due to the victim’s fear of being blamed by their surroundings. On August 31st 2021, The Ministry of Education and Culture of Indonesia stipulated the Minister of Education and Culture Regulation No. 30 of 2021 concerning the Prevention and Handling of Sexual Violence (PPKS) in Higher Education, also known as Higher Education Permendikbudristek PPKS. This regulation–consists of 58 articles–aims to serve as protection for the academic community and achieve a safe learning environment. The “academic community”, as stated in Article 4, includes students, lecturers, education personnel, campus residents, and the general public who interact with students, lecturers, and education personnel. 

 

The Urges that Sparked The Regulation 

According to a survey result regarding sexual violence in universities conducted by The Ministry of Education and Culture in 79 campuses from 29 cities in Indonesia, 77% of lecturers admitted that sexual violence had occurred on their campus (Ajie & Romanti, 2021). It was further described that 63% of the victims did not report their case to their campus because they are afraid and traumatized. Several student organizations and representatives conveyed their concerns regarding sexual violence cases in universities that the authorities of higher education institutions do not do any follow-up. These sexual violence cases occurring  in academic environment is comparable to iceberg phenomenon, both are difficult to prove and cause very significant long-term impact on victims. According to Indonesia’s Minister of Education, Mr. Makarim, the impact of sexual violence could also cause difficulties for universities to provide high quality education, since the students and lecturers do not feel safe and comfortable in their own learning environment (Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, 2021). 

The Ministry also pointed out the lack of sexual violence laws that straightforwardly address the cases surrounding university environments. This called for a keen change, because there have been sexual violence laws addressing specific matters, such as the Domestic Violence Law for the housewifery cases, the Persons Trafficiking Law focused on human trafficking syndicates, etc (Ajie & Romanti, 2021). Aside from this, the absence of clear legal law for sexual violence cases occurring  on higher education surroundings also caused difficulties (Santosa, 2021). These urgent crisis triggered the Ministry to finally provide protection & security, hence said regulation–The Minister of Education and Culture Regulation No. 30 of 2021–was born. The existence of this regulation is expected to reach sexual violence cases in universities and reduce such cases significantly. The substance of this Ministerial Regulation provides legal certainty for higher education institution authorities, rectors, and leaders to take firm steps.

The Main Points of The Regulation

The Ministerial Regulation establishes an official definition of sexual violence in an academic setting which could happen verbally, non-physically, physically, or digitally. To prevent any forms of unclarity, it also stated 21 forms of sexual violence. It emphasizes the prevention and handling of sexual violence procedures held with victims-oriented concerns instead of perpetrators-oriented. The sanctions imposed on perpetrators must be based on the impact of the actions committed on the victim’s condition and academic surroundings. Therefore to handle the reported cases, universities must take action, including assistance, protection, imposition of administrative sanctions, and the recovery of victims.

The Implementation and Penalty

The Ministry of Education and Culture oblige universities to prepare a Task Force soon to implement the regulation. Based on Article 54 of the Ministerial Regulation, the Task Force have several obligations to report the results of monitoring and evaluation of sexual violence prevention activities, survey results conducted by the task force, sexual violence reporting data, activities for handling sexual violence, and activities to prevent the recurrence of sexual violence every semester. In addition, the Minister of Education and Culture will degrade the campus accreditation for the universities and higher education institutions that do not implement this regulation.

The Impacts of The Regulation

Pro and Contra

The abundance of support comes from universities in general and youth organizations on campuses that actively spread awareness and advocate for fellow victims to get their protection rights. These organizations proved that youth voices could help amplify sexual assault problems toward the higher-ups of campuses. Armed with the shield of the Ministerial Regulation and rapid news-spreading through social media, the future of safe and high-quality education for Indonesian youth does not seem impossible after all. However, it is unsurprising to see the rise of opposition sides toward the regulation. The resistance mainly comes from conservative groups and some fractions of the House of Representatives. It needs to be underlined that Indonesia is an Islamic-majority country, and several extremists consider the rule implies a tendency to allow or encourage pre-marital sex. The Ministry of Education and Culture has denied it, which stated that the purpose of the regulation is to “prevent” it instead of “legalize” it (The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, & Technology of Indonesia, 2021).

Rising Numbers of Cases Surfacing

Since the Ministerial Regulation stipulated, the universities handle uprising cases alongside the police and courts. One of which occurred in Indonesia’s public universities, the University of Jakarta (UNJ). The issue first appeared publicly through a Twitter thread, showing screenshots of inappropriate chat sent by a lecturer to several students. The thread quickly spread by sympathetic users and numerous victims/ex-victims who experienced similar assaults by their lecturers and even fellow students. The chat screenshot shows that victims are being pressured–despite delivering uncomfortable remarks–to keep answering the chat due to academic problems, involuntarily binding their communication (Makdori, 2021). Suppose this problem happened before the regulation existed (and unfortunately, tons had). In that case, the victims will get exposed to threats made by the assaulter. Fortunately, the victims decided to step up towards the faculty dean, alongside UNJ’s youth & women advocacy organization, to fight for their justice. Rightfully, the assaulter was immediately being inactivated by the faculty, and UNJ decided to form their Task Force management to bring & push this problem towards the court (Movanita & Achmad, 2021). Sadly, the exploitation of students’ privacy through inappropriate and sexual-intended messages is only one type of sexual assault problem occurring in academia. Other cases, including assaults toward victims’ physical & mental state by a lecturer or fellow students, are also slowly emerging into the surface. The “Prevention and Handling of Sexual Violence (PPKS) in Higher Education” Ministerial Regulation is in a vital position as absolute protection for sexual assault victims, therefore many cases have finally been revealed since its stipulation.    

Broader Impact made by Indonesian & ASEAN Youth

From the previous example, we know that social media came in handy to distribute public awareness revolving around sexual assault and violence in university environments. Among the public are college students associated with critical thinking ability. Within the concern regarding sexual assault and violence, we are provided by an abundance of emerging independent Indonesian youth organizations, preventing the cases to roam away without any notice from public consensus. These organizations, alongside active participation of youth, caused the Minister & other government acts to start taking sexual assault problems seriously. Not only that, Indonesian youth, whether under a certain organization or not, also act as an unofficial inspector to oversee the Ministry Regulation’s implementation.

Taken on January 22nd, 2022, a stunt made by student executive organization of University of Padjadjaran (UNPAD) showing anonymous “victim” wearing mask and a sign with ‘I am a victim of sexual violence in the campus’ written upon it. This stunt was made during the visit of none other than the Minister of Education, Mr Makarim himself. It was, in a way, completely impromptu–without prior notice to the Minister. They also handed a research report regarding sexual assault and violence cases in Indonesian universities during the past several years.

It is unquestioned that Indonesia is a part of the ASEAN region. It means every decision made by the Indonesian government is within closer reach to be heard by other ASEAN countries, some of which has not produced any regulation of sexual assault an violence in academic realm. Hopefully, every ASEAN country will start taking notice and implementing similar laws. This change will be possible if ASEAN youth also start pushing forward and amplifying some hidden cases. For example, Malaysia has applied the Sexual Harassment Bill on the workplace. Unfortunately, it has not been applied to school and college institutions, so a Malaysian student started amplifying her voice through TikTok on April 24th, 2021 (Ragavan, 2021). Caused a spark of serious debate among the public, this could lead to the ratification of the Sexual Harassment Bill on the academic institutions. It will undoubtedly be powerful for ASEAN youth to come together and call out irresponsible decision-makers in demand for necessary protection.

By Diah Aldina Khairunnisa and Syifa Salsabila Putri

Reference

Ajie, M. T., & Romanti, R. (2021, November 13). Mendikbudristek: Ada Darurat Kekerasan Seksual di Lingkungan Perguruan Tinggi!. Inspectorate General of Education, Culture, Research, & Technology of Indonesia. Retrieved January 9, 2022, from https://itjen.kemdikbud.go.id/webnew/2021/11/13/mendikbudristek-ada-darurat-kekerasan-seksual-di-lingkungan-perguruan-tinggi/

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, & Technology of Indonesia. (2021, November 8). Permen Pencegahan dan Penanganan Kekerasan Seksual di Lingkungan Perguruan Tinggi Tuai Dukungan. Retrieved January 9, 2022, from https://www.kemdikbud.go.id/main/blog/2021/11/permen-pencegahan-dan-penanganan-kekerasan-seksual-di-lingkungan-perguruan-tinggi-tuai-dukungan

Makdori, Y. (2021, December 17). UNJ Sebut Sudah Periksa Dosen yang Lakukan Pelecehan Seksual Kepada Belasan Mahasiswinya. liputan6.com. Retrieved January 16, 2022, from https://www.liputan6.com/news/read/4775913/unj-sebut-sudah-periksa-dosen-yang-lakukan-pelecehan-seksual-kepada-belasan-mahasiswinya

Makdori, Y. (2022, January 14). Bentuk Satgas PPKS, UNJ Pastikan Kasus Pelecehan Seksual Dosen ke Mahasiswa Diusut Tuntas. liputan6.com. Retrieved January 16, 2022, from https://www.liputan6.com/news/read/4859382/bentuk-satgas-ppks-unj-pastikan-kasus-pelecehan-seksual-dosen-ke-mahasiswa-diusut-tuntas

Movanita, A. N. K., & Achmad, N. M. (2021, December 17). Dosen UNJ yang Diduga Lecehkan Mahasiswi Dinonaktifkan. KOMPAS.Com. Retrieved January 16, 2022, from https://megapolitan.kompas.com/read/2021/12/17/20152101/dosen-unj-yang-diduga-lecehkan-mahasiswi-dinonaktifkan

Putra, W. P. (2022, January 17). Curhat Mahasiswa Unpad untuk Nadiem Makarim. www.detik.com. Retrieved January 19, 2022, from https://news.detik.com/foto-news/d-5902308/curhat-mahasiswa-unpad-untuk-nadiem-makarim

Ragavan, S. R. (2021, May 12). Timeline of a movement: Sexual harassment in Malaysian schools. www.prweek.com. Retrieved January 19, 2022, from https://www.prweek.com/article/1715617/timeline-movement-sexual-harassment-malaysian-schools

The Documentation & Information Network (JDIH) of The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, & Technology. (2021). Peraturan Menteri Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi Republik Indonesia Nomor 30 Tahun 2021 tentang Pencegahan dan Penanganan Kekerasan Seksual di Lingkungan Perguruan Tinggi. Retrieved January 9,  2022 from https://jdih.kemdikbud.go.id/sjdih/siperpu/dokumen/salinan/salinan_20211025_095433_Salinan_Permen%2030%20Tahun%202021%20tentang%20Kekerasan%20Seksual%20fix.pdf 

Santosa, B. (2021, November 26). Penolakan dan Dukungan Permendikbudristek Nomor 30 Tahun 2021 tentang PPKS. VOI – Waktunya Merevolusi Pemberitaan. Retrieved January 9, 2022, from https://voi.id/berita/108049/penolakan-dan-dukungan-permendikbudristek-nomor-30-tahun-2021-tentang-ppks