Model ASEM Conference, Beijing, China, 24 - 27 September 2008
Proceedings
Day 1: Wednesday, 24 September 2008
The 2008 Model ASEM kicked off with a Welcome Dinner in honour of all participants. Before supper was served Welcome Remarks were made by Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Khanh, Deputy Executive Director of ASEF, Mr. Lu Yongzheng, Head of the All-China Youth Federation, and representing the European Commission, Mr. João Aguiar Machado, Deputy Director General in charge of Asia and Latin America, DG External Relations. The three speakers emphasized the unique opportunity for students in Europe and Asia to engage in such true informal discussions on topics that are not only high on the ASEM agenda, but key to future generations.
Day 2: Thursday, 25 September 2008
On September 25th, the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Model ASEM was attended by Mr. Lu Yongzheng, Head of the All-China Youth Federation, Mr. Liu Jieyi, Assistant Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Khanh, Deputy Executive Director of ASEF, Mr. Nicolas Chapuis, Deputy Head of Mission at the French Embassy in Beijing, and Mr. Wei Shen, President of ASEFUAN. Ambassador Khanh highlighted the relevance of the topics that were going to be discussed by participants including sustainable development and new global challenges. Mr. Lu Yongzheng emphasised the importance of such events in building strong relations between Europe and Asia, one of the main goals of the ASEM Process. Assistant Minister Liu Jieyi considered especially important the fact that participants would not represent their country of origin but one from the other continent, thus enhancing the importance of mutual understanding. Mr. Wei Shen described the 2008 Model ASEM as the biggest ever in terms of participants and countries represented.
During the first Closed Session, held in Plenum, the Heads of each of the 45 Delegations read their Opening Statements. The Delegation of China, headed by Ms. Irene Leino from Finland, as the host nation, read the Opening Remarks which summarized the topics that would be covered during the two day conference. Consequently all nations, in alphabetical order, took the floor in turns. During their Opening Statements delegations placed high importance on topics such as terrorism, natural disaster relief, sustainable growth, financial stability and intercultural dialogue.
Following the division established within the actual ASEM meeting, discussions on each of the three pillars (namely, Political, Economic and Cultural) were held. Each of the 45 delegations was made up by 3 delegates, each of them representing one pillar. All sessions were chaired by the delegation of China and co-chaired by the delegations of the ASEAN Secretariat, the European Commission and France, being the country currently holding the Presidency of the European Union. Two fruitful sessions within each pillar were held during the afternoon. In the Political pillar participants discussed a broad range of issues under the common theme of “Responding to New Global Security Challenges”. The general topic of discussion in the Economic Pillar was “Securing Resources and Competences for Sustainable Growth”. As for the Cultural Pillar, the topic was “Finding Synergies between Tradition and Sustainability.
Day 3: Friday, 26 September 2008
A final closed session in plenum was held in order to discuss the Future of the ASEM Process and its Institutional Development. Delegates agreed that the establishment of a permanent ASEM Secretariat was needed in order to prepare for meetings and make ASEM more visible. Delegates also considered that cross-pillar discussions should to be implemented in future summits.
Later on the day, and after some long discussion, the Final Chair Statement was read. The drafting of the document was coordinated by the delegation of China and the delegations of the ASEAN Secretariat, the European Commission and France. It included the remarks and amendments introduced by delegations. The text was agreed by consensus. In the document, delegates ask for coordinated actions in response to non-traditional security threats. In light of the recent instability of financial markets, special attention was placed in finding solutions that go beyond economic protectionism. Facing Climate Change was another important point of the Statement. It was agreed that the ASEM Declaration on Climate Change needed to be updated and enhanced. In terms of Cultural Exchange, wider promotion was considered to be needed in existing programmes such as ASEM DUO. A programme mimicking the ERASMUS student exchange among European Universities was thought to be further researched upon.
The day ended with the Closing Ceremony. Participation certificates were given to all 135 attendees. Special awards were handed out to the best delegation and the best speakers in each of the three pillars. The award to the most outstanding delegation was given to the Delegation of Japan, consisting of Mr. Frederik Ponjaert from Belgium, Ms. Céline Pajon from France and Ms. lrina Bezrucenko from Latvia. The best speakers’ awards were given to Mr. Bilal Masood, from Pakistan, representing The Czech Republic in the Political Pillar; Ms. Angela Yuelin Li, from the United Kingdom, representing Singapore in the Economic Pillar; and Mr. Zhang Boyang, from China representing the United Kingdom in the Cultural Pillar. An award as an Honorary Participant was handed out to Mr. Ramón Molina, Director of the People-to-People Exchange Department of ASEF, for his constant support to the project. The night concluded with a Cultural programme organised by the All-China Students Federation.
Day 4: Saturday, 27 September 2008
The last day of the 2008 Model ASEM was devoted to Cultural Activities. The Programme was organised by students from Tsinghua University in Beijing. It included a visit to the Forbidden City, the spotting of two of the main venues of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube, and a tour of Tshingua’s University Campus. Participants had the opportunity to experience first hand daily life at a Chinese University and practice some of the traditional Chinese arts, including calligraphy and tai chi.