Articles Category: Culture

The Mango Flavour: India and ASEAN After a Decade of the Act East Policy, written by India’s former Ambassador to Indonesia and ASEAN, Ambassador Gurjit Singh, explores three decades of ASEAN-India relations and the evolution of India’s Act East Policy

The ASEAN Secretariat initiated the ASEAN Artists Residency Programme (AARP) in 2018 to nurture and support the region’s young and upcoming artists. The programme has since featured several artists from across Southeast Asia. In 2025, the ASEAN Art Res

In the heart of Cambodia, where the ancient stone spires of Angkor Wat reach towards the heavens, a different kind of monumental effort recently took place. The vibrant city of Siem Reap served as the backdrop for the 10th ASEAN Plus Three Junior Scien

Illegal wildlife trade is a major driver of biodiversity loss. Conservationists note that most trafficked species are already endangered or at-risk. Poaching and trafficking these species accelerate their depletion and damage the ecological balance.

Biodiversity is essential for sustaining the lives of people, animals, plants, and microorganisms, and for creating healthy ecosystems that provide clean air and food. However, biodiversity is under threat from human activities, including overfishing,

In September 2023, the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) and the ASEAN Business Advisory Council established the ASEAN Business and Biodiversity Initiative (ABBI), a dynamic platform to accelerate progress in achieving biodiversity and climate goals

On 11 October 2024, Ekkaphab Phanthavong officially completes his tenure as the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community. Before assuming his role at the ASEAN Secretariat, he was the Ambassador/Permanent Representative

As the Lao PDR assumes the Chairpersonship of ASEAN and your Ministry leads the ASCC, could you share Lao PDR’s top priorities for the ASCC?

Dr. Kao Kim Hourn began his five year-term as Secretary-General of ASEAN on 1 January 2023. He served two terms as Secretary of State of Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (2003-2013) and two terms as Minister Delegate

Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, first woman Prime Minister of Norway, pioneered the concept of sustainable development and shaped its early agenda. She is a founding member of The Elders, the group of independent global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela in

Tourism has been one of the hardest- hit sectors by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Secretary Romulo-Puyat talks to The ASEAN about the pandemic’s impact on the Philippines’ tourism industry, on jobs and businesses, and how the country is working towa

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reflects on his 10-year tenure as chief diplomat and development advocate, and the role that mutlilateralism plays in addressing ongoing and emerging global challenges.

Gretel Seet Jia Xuan (25) is the Coordinator of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network Southeast Asia. Her interest in biodiversity began at the Festival of Biodiversity, organised by the Singapore National Parks Board. There, she discovered that Singap

Brikko Martillo Dumas, known as Bricx, is a 34-year-old Filipino artist, educator, and climate advocate. He was born in Leyte, in the Philippines’ Eastern Visayas region, and moved to Manila as a teenager. When Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda)

Twenty-five-year-old Thae Eaindra Hsu was born and raised in Mawlamyine, Mon State, Myanmar. Mawlamyine is known for its golden pagodas and its proximity to the Gulf of Mottama Ramsar site, a coastal wetland area recognised for its biodiversity and the

Mark Liao’s journey into biodiversity work began in 2017 when he joined the Borneo Eco-Warriors programme under the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI). He was 22 then when he latched onto this idea and, in the same year, established an e

Thirty-four-year-old Megawati, a community worker based in Wangi-wangi Island in Wakatobi Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, joined the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity’s Effectively Managing Networks of Marine Protected Areas in Large Marine Ecosystems in the

Founded in 2009 in the heritage town of Hoi An, Viet Nam, STREETS International is a 14-month culinary and hospitality training programme that opens doors for disadvantaged youth aged 17 to 25. The programme is entirely free and goes well beyond techni