The Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport and the National Representative of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) successfully hosted the 28th ASEAN Socio-Cultural Council Meeting (28th ASCC Council Meeting), which convened on October 13, 2022.

The meeting endorsed and noted 31 documents including the “Declaration on Digital Evolution of Education System in ASEAN” and the “Reopen, Recover, and Resilience in Education: Guidelines for ASEAN Countries” initiative to reassure that children and young adults receive quality and safe education.

This article focuses on the details of the 28th ASCC Council Meeting.

The ASCC, one of the three ASEAN community pillars, was established to achieve five goals.

These include creating a committed, participative and socially responsible community for the benefit of the people of ASEAN; an inclusive community that promotes high quality of life, equitable access to opportunities for all, and promotes and protects human rights; and a sustainable community that promotes social development and environmental protection.

They also set out to build a resilient community with enhanced capacity and capability to adapt and respond to social and economic vulnerabilities, disasters, climate change and other new challenges; and a dynamic and harmonious community that is aware and proud of its identity, culture and heritage.

In response to Cambodia’s chairmanship of the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits in 2022 – under the theme of “ASEAN ACT: Addressing Challenges Together” – ASCC prioritised four priority areas, with the first the promotion of ASEAN values, awareness and identity through education, youth, sport and culture.

The priority areas also include promoting human resource development and the role of women in long-term economic development; enhancing ASEAN people’s health, wellbeing and social protection in building the ASEAN community; and strengthening ASCC’s institutional capacity and effectiveness.

The 28th ASCC Council Meeting was presided over by Samdech Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Chair of ASEAN.

Participants in the meeting included ASCC Ministers, the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN, ASEAN Secretariat, Senior Official Committee for ASCC (SOCA) Leaders, and the Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR) to ASEAN of the 10 ASEAN Member States.

The meeting endorsed 11 outcome documents for adoption and 20 outcome documents for notation by ASEAN Leaders at the upcoming 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits.

The Chair of SOCA elaborated on the cross-sectoral and cross-pillar works and the progress of the previous ASCC initiatives, including the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework; and Circular Economy, Hanoi Declaration on the ASEAN Community’s Post-2025 Vision.

These also included the Bandar Seri Begawan Declaration on the ASEAN Strategic and Holistic Implementation to Link ASEAN Responses to Emergencies and Disasters (ASEAN SHIELD); and the status of Timor Leste’s application for ASEAN Membership.

ASCC Ministers of the 10 ASEAN Member States and Secretary General of ASEAN provided additional views and discussed strategic directions for ASCC.

The Council endorsed the ASCC assessment report, which developed on the ASCC Fact-Finding Mission in July 2022 on Timor-Leste’s membership application.

ASCC Ministers also agreed to expedite the deployment of Secondment Officers to ASEAN to meet the full quorum of CPR to strengthen ASCC institutional effectiveness.

Cambodian Minister of Education HE Dr Hang Chuon Naron, the ASCC Chair, also took the opportunity to highlight key deliverables under Cambodia’s Chairmanship 2022, which include, among others, the ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on the Year of ASEAN Youth 2022.

These also include Reopen, Recover and Resilience in Education: Guidelines for ASEAN Countries; the Siem Reap Declaration on Promoting a Creative and Adaptive ASEAN Community to Support the Cultural and Creative Economy; and the ASEAN Declaration on Portability of Social Security Benefits for Migrant Workers in ASEAN.

The 28th ASCC Council Meeting also hosted important side events: the grand final of the ASEAN Youth Debate 2022; and the Inauguration of the Institute for International Studies and Public Policy (IISPP) and the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS).

There was also the award ceremony for the ASEAN Youth Photo Competition 2022; the 6th ASEAN Youth Video Contest; and the 1st ASEAN Youth Dialogue.

Cambodian participants came second in the ASEAN Youth Debate 2022, while first place went to those from Malaysia.

Entrants from the Kingdom came first and third in the ASEAN Youth Photo Competition 2022, with those from Thailand coming second.

In the 6th ASEAN Youth Video Contest, participants from Laos took first place, while those from the Philippines were second and Malaysia third.