Model ASEM Summit, Beijing, China
24 - 27 September 2008
The 2008 Model ASEM took place in Beijing, China from the 24th to 27th September 2008. The conference, aimed at international students with strong interest in the political, economic and social relations between Asia and Europe, was co-organised by the All-China Youth Federation (ACYF) and the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) in partnership with the ASEF University Alumni Network (ASEFUAN).
The theme of the 2008 Model ASEM was "Vision and Action: Towards a Win-Win Solution", which was also the theme of the Seventh ASEM Summit (ASEM 7), held in Beijing from from the 24th - 25th October 2008. Please refer to the official ASEM 7 website for further details (http://www.asem7.cn/).
The conference focused on Sustainable Development and each of the three pillars will debate topics related to this. Model ASEM had its own topics of discussion within each pillar, which were:
- Political Pillar: "Responding to New Global Security Challenges"
- Economic Pillar: "Securing Resources and Competences for Sustainable Growth"
- Cultural Pillar: "Finding Synergies between Tradition and Sustainability"
The meeting gathered 135 participants representing 38 ASEM member states, namely: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom and Vietnam.
Despite coming from very different academic and cultural backgrounds, delegates managed to agree on a Final Chairman's Statement that not only summarizes the contents of the discussions that took place during the conference but also proposes some initiatives to the leaders of the ASEM Process.
The 2008 Model ASEM was featured prominently in Chinese Media. CCTV, China's National TV station, reported on the event and so did several newspapers. The Official News Agency, Xinhua, also ran a story on the event on its English website. You can have a look at all the stories on the Media Clipping Section.
Documents
- Programme (PDF)
- Participants' List (PDF)
- Final Chairman's Statement (PDF)