In partnership with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) launched the ASEAN HeForShe Campaign on 30 November.The campaign intends to raise awareness on gender equality in the ASEAN region by encouraging men and boys to act as agents of change to promote a culture of respect for women and girls.

“These are interesting times to be alive,” Singaporean Foreign Minister, Vivien Balakrishnan told a room full of journalists, former ambassadors, diplomats and academics at the ISEAS – Yusuf Ishak Institute on Tuesday.That was the precursor to his lecture entitled “ASEAN: Next 50” on charting the next 50 years for the association as it celebrates its golden jubilee this year.

Much ado about the 31st ASEAN SummitThe highlight for this week was the conclusion of the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Meetings which began last week.

The 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Meetings held in Manila from November 10-14, saw a number of economic deliverables being achieved such as the completion of the Focused and Strategic Action Agenda on Investment, the adoption of the ASEAN Seamless Trade Facilitation Indicators and the development of the ASEAN Inclusive Business Framework amongst others.Another pressing issue at the summit was the subject of women’s economic empowerment in the region.

Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, explained that the Fourth industrial revolution builds on the Third industrial revolution which was largely based on the use of electronics and information technology to automate production.Schwab writes that the Fourth industrial revolution “is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.”According to the World Economic Forum and Asian Devel

The 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Meetings were held in Manila from November 10-14.

The US under President Donald Trump’s leadership is looking more and more isolated in a region calling for the promotion of free trade and the easing of tensions in the Korean Peninsula.In defiance against economic protectionismOn Saturday, Asia-Pacific leaders successfully revived the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – initially thought to be dead after the US pulled out in January.

Donald Trump shook hands Monday with a smiling Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, a man who boasts about personally killing people and who is waging a drug war that rights groups say involves mass murder.The US leader is in Manila with leaders of 18 other nations for two days of summits, the final leg of a headline-grabbing Asian tour dominated by the North Korean nuclear crisis.Allegations of Russian meddling in last year's US presidential elections have also hounded the second half

Prince Charles and wife visits MalaysiaThis week, Malaysia welcomed the heir to the British throne, His Royal Highness, Prince Charles, and his wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, Duchess of Cornwall as the couple continued their 11-day tour of South and Southeast Asia.

ASEAN is no stranger to the plethora of acronyms that make up the names of its organs and initiatives – ARF, AICHR, SEOM, AMM, ADCFIM, just to name a few.