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View all search resultsASEAN needs a story that young people can own
ASEAN does not need to reinvent itself. It simply needs to communicate differently.
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A man runs past national flags of ASEAN member states on May 5 outside a media center in Cebu, the Philippines, ahead of the 48th ASEAN Summit. (AFP/Ted Aljibe)
L
ast week, I reconnected with an old friend over coffee after almost 16 years. We first met when I was a research fellow at Singapore’s Institute of Policy Studies. Since then, our careers have taken us in different directions. Mine led me to the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. Hers led her into education, youth development and social innovation.
As we talked about Southeast Asia, against the backdrop of ASEAN Day on Aug. 8, I asked how she viewed ASEAN today, particularly through the eyes of young people. She paused and said, almost matter-of-factly: “ASEAN is not cool.”
I laughed, and yet the more I reflected on those four words, the more I realized she might have diagnosed one of ASEAN’s biggest public-diplomacy challenges, which is not that ASEAN is uncool, but that ASEAN often sounds … like ASEAN!
For nearly six decades, ASEAN has spoken the language of declarations, road maps, blueprints, master plans and visions. These documents matter. They have helped preserve peace, deepen economic integration and transform Southeast Asia into one of the world’s most dynamic regions.
Yet, they are not the language spoken by a 19-year-old deciding where to study, a young entrepreneur building a start-up or a climate activist wondering what kind of future she will inherit. Perhaps ASEAN does not have a policy problem. Perhaps it has a storytelling problem.
During my cumulative 15 years at the ASEAN Secretariat, one lesson became increasingly clear. People do not connect with institutions through organizational charts, official communiqués, policy papers or formal meetings. They connect through human interest stories, experiences and shared aspirations.
The good news is that ASEAN does not need to reinvent itself. It simply needs to communicate differently. The region already possesses much of what younger generations embrace: diversity, creativity, entrepreneurship, mobility, innovation and vibrant cultures. What is missing is a narrative that connects these strengths in ways people can see, feel and experience.
