Preparations for the 2nd ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC) to be held in Cebu, Philippines from December 10 to 12, 2006 have been underway since early this year. Civil society groups from the Philippines have been particularly active in the preparations, as the Philippine process was held last October 13-14, at the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology (INNOTECH) in Quezon City. This year’s ACSC, with the theme, “Creating a Caring and Sharing Community: Enhancing ASEAN People's Participation in Governance and Development,” hopes for greater cooperation in the region, and will be held parallel to the 12th ASEAN Summit, also in Cebu.

 

The Philippine meeting, with the theme “The Philippines in the ASEAN: Facing the Challenge of Regional Integration,” explored the following questions in accordance to the three thematic pillars of the ASEAN vision:
(1) Economic
- With the dilemma posed by the proposed economic integration, should there be an ASEAN Common Market by 2020, and if so, what are the elements that will make this desirable?
(2) Security
- How is the ASEAN Way of non-interference has advanced or slowed down democratic aspirations and human rights in the region?
- How is ASEAN situated within Asia and globally in terms of its contribution to conflict prevention, peace and security?
(3) Socio-cultural
- Will the development of such arrangements as regional commons, regional health, or regional education be the necessary pillar to bring the idea of a regional community within reach of the common ASEAN citizen?

Participants also jointly planned the strategies to effectively bring their advocacy at the regional level, especially during the 2nd ACSC in December.

With around 200 expected participants from civil society groups, the 2nd ACSC will serve as a platform in
(1) conducting broad-based discussions of the implications and dilemmas of regional integration,
(2) exploring how regional integration can be beneficial to the people and environment of the region,
(3) looking into alternatives that have worked for various regions and communities in confronting these issues and dilemmas, and
(4) reflecting these alternatives in civil society proposals for the ASEAN charter.

The 2nd ACSC is being organised by regional networks of civil society organisations coming together under the Solidarity for Asian People's Advocacies (SAPA) as well as the participants of the 1st ACSC held in Malaysia last year. 

According to Jenina Joy Chavez of Focus on the Global South, in an article from South East Asian Committee for Advocacy (SEACA), “ASEAN milestones have been alien to people as it has proceeded with a very government-oriented perspective and involved highly specialized groups. Evaluating ASEAN should lead us to the conception of alternative regionalism, including what kind of ASEAN will work for us.”

Similar meetings, supported by the SEACA, are being held in Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Source:
“Engendering Engagement in ASEAN: Philippine civil society holds ACSC national process” from Southeast Asian Committee for Advocacy, posted on November 6, 2006, <http://www.seaca.net/viewArticle.php?aID=956>.

Backgrounder

1) South East Asian Committee for Advocacy (SEACA)

SEACA is a programme that focuses on advocacy capacity building of civil society organisations (CSOs) in South East Asia. It aims (a) to continue to support advocacy initiatives of civil society organisations, networks and social movements that are aimed at improving the living standards and quality of life of people and ensuring that the rights of marginalised sectors are respected, and (b) to advance advocacy for pro-poor ASEAN policies.

Address: #29 D Mayaman Street, UP Village, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
Telephone Number: (+632) 920 6228
Telefax Number: (+632) 920 6202
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
Website: <http://www.seaca.net>

2) Solidarity for Asian People’s Advocacy (SAPA)

SAPA is a network of NGOs and civil society organisations engaged in campaigns and advocacy on various issues of public interest at the national and regional levels. It is composed of members with varied competencies in the key pillars of ASEAN cooperation.

Contact SAPA Working Group on the ASEAN through SEACA

FYI: Women's Organisations and Networks joining together in the ASEAN Summit  

Women's organisations and networks including ARROW, CATW, Forum Asia, IGTN-Asia, WAGI, and Isis International-Manila have come together to organise a forum titled “Women Transforming the ASEAN Community into a Democratic Project” to be held during the ASEAN Summit in Cebu, Philippines in December 2006. The forum aims to bring together women’s groups, trade activists, and social movements in a discussion and broad understanding of the link between women’s rights and gender equality as well as the construction of a democratic ASEAN community.

1) Asian-Pacific Resource & Research Centre for Women (ARROW)

ARROW is a regional non-profit and non-governmental organisation concerned with ensuring that development policies and plans influencing women’s health status included women’s and gender perspectives. ARROW is committed to promoting and protecting women's health rights and needs, particularly in the area of women's sexuality and reproductive health.

Address: No. 80 & 82, 3rd Floor, Jalan Tun Sambanthan, Brickfields, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Telephone Number: (603) 2273 9913 / 2273 9914 / 2273 9915
Fax Number: (603) 2273 9916
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: <http://www.arrow.org.my/>

2) Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW)

CATW is a non-governmental organisation that promotes women's human rights by working internationally to combat sexual exploitation in all its forms. CATW has regional networks in Asia, Latin America, Europe, Africa and Australia.

CATW International
Address: P.O. Box 9338, N. Amherst, MA 01059 USA
Fax Number: (+1 413) 367 9262
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: <http://www.catwinternational.org/>

CATW Asia-Pacific
Address: Room 308, Sterten Place, 116 Maginhawa St., Teacher's Village, Quezon City,
Philippines
Telephone Number: (+63 2) 426 9873
Fax Number: (+63 2) 434 2149
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

3) Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)

FORUM-ASIA is a membership-based regional human rights organisation in Asia which presently has 36 member organisations in 14 countries in Asia. It seeks to facilitate dialogue, capacity-building and networking among human rights defenders, civil society actors and organisations in Asia to achieve a full realisation of all the human rights and human development in the region.

Address: Baan Vichien, Apartment 3B, 220 Sukhumvit 49/12, Klongton Nua, Wattana, Bangkok, Thailand
Telephone Number: (+66) 2391 8801
Fax Number: (+66) 2391 8764
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: <http://www.forum-asia.org/>

4) International Gender and Trade Network (IGTN)

IGTN is a network of feminist gender specialists who provide technical information on gender and trade issues to women's groups, NGOs, social movements and governments. IGTN acts as a political catalyst to enlarge the space for a critical feminist perspective and global action on trade and globalisation issues.

IGTN-Asia addresses the lack of adequate protection for the livelihoods of the poor, many of them women who worked in the informal sector, who were the hardest hit by the collapse of the Asian model of economic development in 1990s.

Contact Person: Gigi Francisco, IGTN-Asia Coordinator
Address: International Gender and Trade Network-Asia, Women and Gender Institute,
Miriam College, Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Philippines
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: <http://www.igtn.org/>

5) Women and Gender Institute (WAGI)

WAGI is Miriam College’s centre for research, training and advocacy on women’s rights, gender equality and non-sexist learning in support of the leadership of young women and students. It offers a cross-disciplinal perspective on women’s empowerment that is interlinked with democracy, human rights, social justice and value formation. WAGI forges links with other sectors, organisations and institutions at the national, regional and international levels.

Address: Miriam College, Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Philippines
Telephone Number: (+632) 580 5400 extn. 3590
Telefax Number: (+632) 435 9229
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: <http://www.mc.edu.ph/centers/womengenderinstitute.html>

6) Isis International-Manila

Isis is a feminist NGO committed to creating spaces within information and communications structures and systems that promote the many voices of women, particularly those from the South. Isis believes women’s access and capacity to participate in generating and disseminating their own knowledge and experiences through various mediums of communication can lead to transformation of society.

Address: 3 Marunong Street, Brgy. Central, Quezon City, Philippines
Telephone Number: (+63 2) 928 1956
Fax Number: (+63 2) 924 1065
Website: <http://www.isiswomen.org>