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

Twenty visual artists from ASEAN Member States and India gathered in Udaipur, Rajasthan, in 2022 to participate in the second ASEAN-India Artists’ Camp, centring on the theme “Oceans of Connectivity.” The camp was supported by the ASEAN-India Fund and

As diplomats and those in the corridors of power do their jobs, how can ordinary citizens contribute to public diplomacy? While we cannot participate in ministerial talks and high-level summits, ordinary citizens and incredibly creative communities hav

K-pop may hold the global spotlight, but traditional Korean music is slowly finding its audience. Sometimes, with a bit of help from K-pop idols.

Spices are an integral part of Southeast Asian cuisine. They create the unique flavour profile of our countries’ most iconic dishes. Think of tom yum without galangal and chilli peppers, or pho without coriander, cardamom, and star anise.

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?

Philippine Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, who serves as ALMM Chair, discusses two new ASEAN declarations that champion the rights and welfare of migrant workers and their families. He also describes a Philippine-led public campaign to raise aware

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

Minister Ida Fauziyah talks to The ASEAN about Indonesia’s strategies for formalising work arrangements in Indonesia, the opportunities and threats presented by digitalisation on the country’s informal sector, and efforts to address gaps in measuring a

On 1 January 2021, Brunei Darussalam assumed the ASEAN Chairmanship for 2021. Minister Aminuddin talks to The ASEAN about how Brunei Darussalam will work to accelerate efforts to recover from the pandemic and reach the goal of ASEAN solidarity.

Bogi Dewanto has been working as a taxi driver for 20 years. Before the pandemic, his job provided him with comfortable wages and a flexible working arrangement. He is considered a “partner,” not an employee, of the taxi company. Bogi earns on a profit

Bryan Koh’s love for Southeast Asian cuisine has led him on an intense food trail to record the lesser-known cuisines of the region that may soon be forgotten.

Southeast Asia’s enduring tradition of handwoven textiles took centre stage at the recently held TENUN Fashion Week. This inaugural event was held online in the trend of digital fashion weeks as a response to COVID-19 restrictions. It was organised by

Miguel “Mike” Alcazaren wears many artistic hats— animator, filmmaker, screenwriter, and comic book series creator. He began his career as an animator, co-founding a stop motion animation company with his brothers in 1989. The company is the first of i

Freelance documentary photographer Joshua Irwandi became the talk of the town when his photograph of a solitary plastic-wrapped corpse of a suspected COVID-19 victim in an Indonesian hospital was published by the National Geographic in 2020. “The Human

In 2012, Thao Vu started her sustainable fashion brand, Kilomet109, a local label that prides itself on applying traditional methods into contemporary design and localising its supply chain. She aimed to set an example for other companies to follow. Ki