3rd ASEAN + Civil Society Conference

The main goal is to develop a civil society agenda and strategies to tackle challenges arising from the adoption of an ASEAN Charter at the upcoming ASEAN Summit.

1st ASEAN Civil Society Conference Held in Kuala Lumpur, Dec 05 2nd ASEAN Civil Society Conference Held in Cebu, Dec 06

Coming Soon 3rd ASEAN + Civil Society Conference (ACSC III) Singapore, 2-4 November 2007 Moving Forward: Building an ASEAN + People's Agenda

The national processes are initiatives that seek to develop the ACSC beyond a yearly event to parallel the ASEAN Summits. This year the ACSC hopes to transform itself into an active agenda for research, advocacy and activism that will meld into and reinforce existing regional civil society and social movement initiatives.

In the spirit of solidarity and open space, the agenda is for ACSC members and supporters to take up and advance, to support and enrich ongoing work while recognizing the limits of its specific focus. The objective is to advance the idea of a culturally appropriate alternative regionalism that will have articulation in policy advocacy; in development work; solidarity interaction; and cooperation initiatives among peoples, communities and sectors.

This year's theme therefore will be "Moving Forward: Building an ASEAN People's Agenda"

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Background Information

1) The 3rd ASEAN+ Civil Society Conference (ACSC III) is a major gathering and initiative of key civil society organisations prior to the 13th ASEAN Summit (Singapore, 16-18 November 2007). The ACSC III will take place at the Peninsular Excelsior Hotel in Singapore from 2 – 4 November 2007.

2) Under the theme "Moving Forward: Building an ASEAN+ People's Agenda", ACSC III is expected to bring about 200 civil society representatives and actors to discuss the main challenges facing people and civil society organisations in relation to ASEAN Summit.

3) The main goal is to develop a civil society agenda and strategies to tackle challenges arising from the adoption of ASEAN Charter at the upcoming ASEAN Summit (Singapore, 16-17 November 2007).

4) The ACSC III is organised by Solidarity for Asian People's Advocacy (SAPA) Working Group on ASEAN of which FORUM-ASIA is co-convenor together with Southeast Asia Committee for Advocacy (SEACA). It will be locally hosted and co-organized by UNI-APRO (Asia Pacific Regional Office), the Singapore Local organizing Committee led by Think Centre, and the SAPA Working Group on ASEAN.

5) Participants from various background and experiences, such as human rights, development, the environment and sustainable development, peace and human security, women's rights, etc. will share and discuss issues related to ASEAN, in particular, the ASEAN Charter

6) The ACSC III will have plenaries, concurrent workshops, cultural and multi-media events, a quiz, a solidarity night and spaces for independent interactions and caucuses. There will be a two-panel plenary on Singapore, to increase civil society understanding of Singapore's socio-political reality. All participants are expected to arrive on 1 November 2007 and leave on 5 November 2007.

7) The first ACSC was held in Kuala Lumpur in December 2005 and the second one in Cebu 10-12 December 2006 prior to the annual ASEAN Summit. The venue will be the Peninsular Excelsior Hotel in Singapore. The next ACSC will be in Thailand in 2008 as the 14th ASEAM Summit is to be hosted by Thailand.

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Among the objectives of the 3rd ACSC are:

1. To enrich and deepen civil society understanding of ASEAN and regional processes
2. To take stock of civil society advocacy and engagement in ASEAN and regional processes
3. To provide a platform to discuss issues of common interest and ways to respond to those issues
4. To provide a space for common strategizing on broadly engaging common issues
5. To get a mandate for the ACSC to be a live process and not just a conference or parallel event to the ASEAN Summit
6. To adopt a common declaration and agenda of action for the ACSC that includes research, advocacy and action
7. To get a mandate for the 4th ACSC Thailand Host Committee for 2008

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Host and Co-Organizers:

Union Network International Asia-Pacific Regional Office [UNI APRO]
Singapore Local Organizing Committee - Focal Point Think Centre
SAPA Working Group on ASEAN - Regional Steering Committee

* Asian Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas [AsiaDHRRA]
* Focus on the Global South
* Asian Forum on Human Rights and Development [Forum-Asia]
* Human Rights Working Group-Indonesia
* Migrant Forum in Asia [MFA]
* South East Asian Committee for Advocacy [SEACA]
* Think Center-Singapore
* Third World Network

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3rd ACSC PROGRAMME

DAY 1: November 2, 2007

Opening Ceremonies
Keynote Speeches
Plenary 1: Regionalism for the People: Building a Social ASEAN
Plenary 2: Where do we want to go and what do we want to achieve?

DAY 2: November 3, 2007

Plenary 3: Reclaiming Spaces: Experiences with advocacy in ASEAN
First Set of Concurrent Workshops
Plenary 4: Understanding Singapore, its Place and Role in the ASEAN Region, and the Role for Civil Society
The ACSC ASEAN Quiz
Dinner

DAY 3: November 4, 2007

Plenary 5: Where to with the ASEAN Charter Building Process?
Second Set of Concurrent Workshops
Plenary 6: Moving Forward with the ACSC Process
Closing Ceremonies
Solidarity Night

PANEL WORKSHOPS OF THE 3rd ACSC

There will be two sets of five (5) concurrent workshops each.

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Sources and Relevant Links:

For history of ACSC (i.e.ACSC 1 & 2), go to: ASEAN Civil Society Conference

Singapore Working Group for ASEAN CONSULTATION WORKSHOP ON THE ASEAN CHARTER October 6th

Singapore Working Group for ASEAN The Draft ASEAN Charter: Is it people-centred? 26 August 2007

Singapore Working Group for ASEAN Draft ASEAN Charter must be distributed to the people 25 August 2007

ASEAN Secretariat THE ASEAN CHARTER: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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