ANU Inks Deal with DLSU to Deliver Dual Program in Economics

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The Australian National University (ANU) and De La Salle University (DLSU) in the Philippines signed an agreement on 2 August 2016 at DLSU Campus, Manila, Philippines, to establish a new joint program of graduate studies in economics at both universities.

The partnership was made possible through the Australian Government’s Institutional Partnerships Program in the Philippines. In the photo above are Professor Veronica Taylor (Dean of ANU College of Asia and the Pacific), Dr Gerardo Janairo (DLSU Chancellor), Mr Mat Kimberley (Deputy Head of Mission, Australian Embassy).

Under the new agreement, one year of graduate studies will be undertaken at DLSU and another year at ANU. Students who successfully complete the first year of studies will receive a Diploma in Development Economics from DLSU and will be granted entry into the ANU Crawford School to continue their graduate studies. Those who successfully complete studies at the Australian university will be awarded a Master of Environmental and Resource Economics (MERE) or a Master of International and Development Economics (MIDEC).

Mr Mat Kimberley, Australia’s Deputy Head of Mission to the Philippines was pleased to attend the signing, stating that “This is a wonderful development and one that we would like to see more of. Education plays a vital role in Australia-Philippine relations dating back to the 1950s when Filipino scholars were in the first cohort of the Colombo Plan. Since then, more than 3,000 young Filipinos have studied in Australia as part of the Australia Awards Program and each year 10,000 Filipinos study and train in Australia. Today, we are also sending Australia’s best and the brightest to study and train in the Philippines under the New Colombo Plan.”

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is also working with ANU to deliver The Philippines Update 2016 Conference on 2 - 3 September 2016. This conference will provide a forum to link Australian and Filipino officials and researchers’ together to support research on inclusive growth, trade and governance in the Philippines and to look at how development gains under the previous administration can continue under the Duterte administration. The Philippines Update 2016 conference is being presented as part of the 70th anniversary celebration of Philippine-Australia relations.

For updates on Australia-Philippines’ #First70Years, visit www.philippines.embassy.gov.au, like us on Facebook and follow us on @Ausembph.

The Problem of Encroachment: Shrinking Civic Spaces and Territorial Disputes in ASEAN

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Among the foremost concerns of civil society being prioritised at this year’s ASEAN People’s Forum is the issue of encroachment. This encroachment is being seen throughout the region, both in the form of shrinking civic spaces, as well as physical encroachment on land and maritime rights.

During yesterday’s sessions, representatives of organisations from Timor-Leste, Indonesia, and Vietnam respectively discussed the issues faced by their communities with regard to resource exploitation by Australia, encroachment on the rights of traditional fisherman via government regulations, and China’s strong-arming of ASEAN countries in the South China Sea.

“A good response to this issue is to build more people-to-people solidarity, especially between and among peoples of the contending or claiming countries, such as Australia, Timor-Leste, the Philippines, China, and the like,” stated Mr. Augusto (Gus) Miclat Jr., Executive Director of the Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID), based in the Phillipines.

Mr. Mark Batac, also representing IID as well as the Global Partnership for Prevention of Armed Conflict, heeded that we must further remember that, “Fighting encroachment is not a competition between the people of China and the people of ASEAN, or the people of TimorLeste and the people of Australia. While we celebrate our sovereignty as peoples, we should also be weary not to flame any conflicts between our peoples. We as the people’s movement in civil society must build bridges, not boundaries.”

Encroachment in the form of shrinking civil space also continues to plague ASEAN civil society. Mr. Andrew Khoo of the Malaysian Bar Council discussed how governments across ASEAN use means such as national security, censorship, and regulation to justify its encroachment on the rights of citizens.

Ms. Chalida Tajaroensuk of People’s Empowerment Foundation, Thailand, illustrated how these tools of oppression are used in Thailand, stating, “The justification behind the 2014 military coup was to ‘keep peace and order,’ and now Article 44 of the current version of the Constitution is being used under this guise to concentrate power with the government. They use Article 44 to justify the violation of rights, from land-grabbing to dragging human rights defenders into military court.”

Similarly, Mr. Victor Mambor of the Independent Alliance of Journalists (AJI Papua) discussed the repression that is taking place through silencing in West Papua, with police ‘categorising victims as terrorists and separatists, and arresting or killing them on these grounds.’ Mr. Mambor also shed light on the government’s tactic of preventing international media or NGOs from entering the country, further silencing any discussion of problematic issues.

Once again, greater solidarity among ASEAN civil societies to unite with a common voice against oppression, regardless of which country the offense is taking place in, was emphasised as a way forward. This further underscores the importance of the ACSC/APF forum in bringing representatives of ASEAN civil society together for open dialogue to discuss strategies and solutions in a safe space.

Timor-Leste Leads ASEAN Call for Increased Collaboration Between Civil Society and Government

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With the official opening of the ASEAN Civil Society Conference / ASEAN Peoples' Forum (ACSC/APF) 2016, there has been a resounding call for greater solidarity among ASEAN civil society, as well as for heightened collaboration between civil society and government. 

These themes have been embodied both in the consensus to hold the ACSC/APF 2016 in Timor-Leste, as well as by the presence of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Timor-Leste, H.E. dr. Mr. Rui Maria Araujo, at the opening ceremony. This was unprecedented—as it is the first time the head-of-state of an ASEAN nation has participated and engaged in an open dialogue with citizens—and must serve as an example to the ASEAN governments.

In his address to ACSC/APF 2016 participants this morning at the Dili Convention Center, Prime Minister Araujo illustrated the potential of a collaborative relationship between government and civil society using the example of Timor-Leste. Prime Minister Araujo stated, “The relationship between government and civil society in Timor-Leste is constructed upon the genuine conviction that civil society is an important partner during the process of nation-building in countries like ours where almost everything—from policy development, to implementation, to monitoring of results—have to be built from scratch, and have important implications in the day-to-day lives of people who struggled during 500 years of foreign domination.”

Prime Minister Araujo reminded the audience of the critical role that civil society has historically played in Timor-Leste, saying, “Our nationhood was shaped and our sovereignty restored through civil society activism, so the government did not have any doubt about the continued vital role of civil society in shaping the destiny of our nation.” The Prime Minister also drew attention to the fact that, “Despite the close relationship between the government and civil society organisations, the government has not expected civil society to stop criticising the government,” maintaining Timor-Leste as an open society.

“We want to lead by example,” said Prime Minister Araujo, referencing Timor-Leste’s track record of ratifying international human rights conventions. “This means implementing our commitments in these conventions.”

Prime Minister Araujo’s sentiments around increased collaboration were shared by the ASEAN Parliamentarians who participated in Tuesday’s Town Hall, as well as by President Taur Matan Ruak,

whose address was delivered by a representative during the welcome cocktail reception hosted at the President’s Palace on Tuesday night. The dialogue with ASEAN Parliamentarians highlighted the need for increased education among members of government on the treaties and underlying obligations of the human rights conventions to which their countries have acceded, and the Parliamentarians called on civil society, as the on-theground experts, to continue to guide government’s agenda and priorities.

President Taur Matan Ruak’s words also underscored the need for a less adversarial and more collaborative relationship between government and civil society, stating ‘we should not be afraid to be in the same room together,’ and attributing some successful measures Timor-Leste has taken towards recognising human rights to the initiatives of civil society.

Members of ASEAN civil society are cautiously optimistic about the collaboration with government, emphasising that this collaboration only makes sense if it is substantive and addresses the most painful issues of the region, such as the shrinking space for civil society and persecution of dissenting voices.

The ACSC/APF 2016 Conference is taking place on 02-05 August 2016, at the Dili Convention Center in Timor-Leste. The full programme of the ACSC/APF 2016 can be viewed at aseanpeople.org.