NEAT Korea Working Group Meeting on East Asia Cooperation and Human Security in the Post-Covid 19 Era

Source: NEAT Philippines Secretariat taken during the NEAT Korea WG meeting on East Asia Cooperation and Human Security in the Post-Covid 19 Era, 23 July 2021

The fourth working group (WG) of the Network of East Asian Think Tanks (NEAT) this 2021 was hosted by NEAT Korea organized by the Korean Institute for Southeast Asian Studies. The WG meeting was held last 23 July 2021, 1100-1630H (GMT+9) via Cisco Webex with the theme “East Asia Cooperation and Human Security in the Post-Covid 19 Era“.

The objectives of this WG meeting were as follows:

·            To review the progress of East Asian socio cultural cooperation;

·            To assess each country ’s nee ds for human security cooperation;

·            To prioritize hum an security to enhance East Asian cooperation; and

·            To seek ways to common policy towards an East Asian community with reference to human security.

The meeting was attended by 19 representatives from 9 APT countries. In a two-session workshop, lead experts shared their views and observations on human security aspect of the pandemic. Discussions include country as well as regional issues.

Dr. Kim Hyungjun (President, Korean Association of Southeast Asian Studies) opened the meeting by disussing how South Korea handled and is handling the Covid-19 pandemic. He further discussed his insights about the effects of the pandemic in the region. He connected these issues to the theme of the working group.

Source: NEAT Philippines Secretariat taken during the opening address of Dr. Kim Hyungjun (President, Korean Association of Southeast Asian Studies)

The host of the meeting, Dr. Kim Hyung Jong (Yonsei University at Wonju), facilitated the transitions of the sessions to the esteemed moderators. He is also among the Session 1 presenters.

The first session was moderated and facilitated by Dr. Hwang Inwon (Gyeongsang National University and NEAT Korea’s Country Coordinator). The session is composed of 5 presentations by the expert representatives from Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore and Korea.

Source: NEAT Philippines Secretariat taken during the presentation of Ms. Avyanthi Azis of Indonesia on session 1

Dr. Chae Suhong (Seoul National University) moderated the second session which covered 4 presentations by the representatives from Malaysia, Thailand, China, and Lao PDR.

Source: NEAT Philippines Secretariat taken during the presentation of Dr. Qistina of Malaysia on session 2

After the 2 sessions, the discussant, Dr. Kee Jaehyun (Asian Institute of Policy Studies), synthesized the presentations and discussions from the floor. He also gave his own insights about the theme highlighting the progress of Korea in dealing with the pandemic.

Prof. Kim Keeseok  (Kangwon National University) moderated  during the wrap-up session. Discussions focused on the various recommendations to be included in the draft working group report. The said draft will be circulated to the group for further inputs and comments. The host then concluded the meeting by expressing appreciation to the experts and participants.

The results of this WG meeting will be presented to NEAT Country Coordinators meeting on 01 September 2021, and will then be submitted to the APT leaders who will meet in November 2021. For more information, you may reach NEAT Korea through Dr. Kim Hyung Jong  (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

You may access the program by clicking HERE.