ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS OR ASEAN was founded on August 8, 1977 in Bangkok, Thailand. It includes 10 member nations which are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. In 1977, the United States initiated a partnership with the ASEAN. Over the last 40 years, US was the first non-ASEAN country to name an ambassador to ASEAN. In 2015, the US-ASEAN partnership was elevated into a strategic partnership. 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN and the 40th anniversary of its partnership with the United States.
The US has partnered with ASEAN to focus on the following areas:
1.) Supporting economic integration
ASEAN is the fourth largest trading partner of the United States. Trades between the US and southeast Asia supported 500,000 jobs in the US and even more in ASEAN. American companies are one of the largest foreign investors of the ASEAN which made the US government support more than 120,000 entrepreneurs in the past 5 years alone.
2.) Expanding maritime cooperation
In the past 5 years alone, the United States has conducted more than 500 trainings, workshops and exchanges and spent over 51 us dollars to advance maritime cooperation in ASEAN. The US provided 37 million us dollars in security assistance and another 37 million us dollars in military education and training
3.) Addressing transnational challenges
Since 2012, the United States has helped protect approximately 64 million acres of forest lands and coastal areas in Cambodia and Indonesia. They also supported access to clean drinking water for over 6 million people in the ASEAN.
4.) Promoting opportunity for women
The US invested over 14 million us dollars for programs to support Southeast Asian Women's Economic Engagement
5.) Cultivating emerging leaders
Launched in 2013, the Young Southeast Asian Initiative or YSEALI is former US President Barrack Obama's signature program to strengthen leadership development and networking in southeast Asia. This YSEALI event will bring together 500 YSEALI members from Brunei, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Philippines. During the summit, participants will explore issues in southeast Asia, develop leadership and interact with other young leaders in the ASEAN. The summit themes are environment, economic empowerment, civic engagement and education. The exchange students from ASEAN will also receive funds to support their projects for their community.
Conclusion
"Kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan" - Jose Rizal
Quoting the famous line of the Philippine National Hero, young people can be powerful agents for the greater goal of the community. With the help of YSEALI, the delegates will learn advanced leadership skills that will equip them to develop innovative solutions in addressing the issues of their communities. This will prove that our generation is more than what the society views us. The leadership skills of the youth can influence the society to come together and be involved in developing their respective communities. SYMBOLIC INTERACTION is also observed in the YSEALI programs because the projects and workshops strengthens the fact that people make sense of their social worlds through interacting with one other. People become active in shaping the society through the use of language and symbols.
source:
www.youtube.com/yseali
asean.usmission.gov
bangkokpost.com
rizaliansite.weebly.com