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The 4th Connecting Civil Societies (CCS) Conference “Changing Challenges, New Ideas” took place in Brussels on 1-3 October 2010. An official side event of the 8th Summit of Leaders of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM8), CCS4 was a platform for civil society to convey recommendations to the leaders of 46 Asian and European countries plus the European Commission and the ASEAN Secretariat, who met in Brussels on 4 and 5 October.
Concluding with eight points of action for ASEM leaders to enhance Asia-Europe cooperation, CCS participants welcomed the continuing political dialogue between ASEM leaders at the highest level, and called for greater civil society engagement and partnership at all levels and initiatives of the ASEM process.
These recommendations included moves for advancing interregional and regional integration; mobilising resources for higher education; harnessing voluntary service for lifelong learning; building regional communities for post-conflict reconciliation; guaranteeing access to information; promoting public health through “young” ideas; and applying the arts in sustainable urban development. Senior editors from Asia and Europe also concluded a roundtable discussion by noting an urgent need for Asia and Europe to learn from each other as challenges and risks are increasingly inter-connected across borders as well as across sectors.
recommendations I. Advance Inter-regionalism and Regional Integration
Asia and Europe need more knowledge about each other and about their inter-regional relations. ASEM should therefore mobilise civil society organisations, higher education institutions and think-tanks in order to facilitate the creation of an ASEM knowledge community that enhances mutual understanding. Three concrete avenues for this are proposed:
• ASEM should create more space for mutual learning by facilitating civil society exchanges between Europe and Asia and by increasing the civil society participation to ASEM processes.
• ASEM should put Higher Education and Research cooperation as one of its top priorities and take measures to stimulate long-term research cooperation between young researchers on topics of common interest.
• ASEM should contribute to strengthen the capacity of academic research institutes and think-tanks in Europe and Asia to understand each other's societies by facilitating exchanges, mobility and collaboration, as well as by facilitating the setup of an ASEM network of think tanks.
II. Mobilise Resources for Higher Education
• Higher education is a public good and a fundamental element of economic, social and cultural development. Governments need to provide continued support to ensure continuity, quality, diversity, equity and access.
Governments need to facilitate an effective and efficient degree of autonomy in higher education institutions. Higher education institutions should actively involve other stakeholders, including students, in the management of their resources, in defining strategic priorities and in evaluating outcomes.
• Costs and funding models should be defined by the needs and expectations of students as well as employers and the wider society. In the ASEM context, an effort should be made to explore supra-national and cross-regional strategies.
V. Guarantee the Right to Information The right of individuals to access information which is held by public authorities is essential for civic engagement, to make governments accountable and ensure sustainable development – including the fight against poverty and corruption. ASEM governments are
urged to:
• Recognise and respect the right of the public to seek, receive and impart information by adopting and implementing comprehensive national rights to information legislation based on international standards; and to ensure the fullest transparency and citizen’s access to information in all bilateral and multilateral negotiations leading to treaties and agreements.
• Accede to and extend their commitment to international treaties and conventions which advance the right to information, in particular the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention). Furthermore, they should require that the international institutions (to which they are a party) adopt transparency policies. In particular, they should proactively provide information needed by the public, especially vulnerable groups, to hold these institutions accountable.
• ASEM leaders should enable and encourage civil society initiatives that promote the right to information and facilitate the exchange of experiences and resources across ASEM countries to effectuate this right. VIII. Asia and Europe: Engaging for a Post-Crisis World
The 5th Asia-Europe Editors’ Roundtable
The ASEM 8 Summit is occurring at a critical moment of profound global transition. There is an urgent need for Asia and Europe to learn from each other as challenges and risks are increasingly inter-connected across borders as well as across sectors. The issue of global governance reflects the impact of a shift in power from the West to the East. Europe is overrepresented in global institutions and growing focus on the legitimacy of institutions has led to a questioning of this over-representation. However, it is difficult to conceive of EU member states willingly giving up global political power. Consequently, a flourishing of ad hoc G20-like institutions (or indeed the entrenchment of the G20) seems more plausible than the adaptation of existing institutions.
• European engagement with Asia therefore needs to recognise widespread Asian distrust of the EU’s perceived morally-superior agenda predicated on human rights; this agenda is undermined by, for instance, the treatment of immigrants to the EU.
In short, Europe-Asia engagement should focus on institutional processes, issues of governance enabling Asia to learn practical lessons from the EU; projects need to be constructive, and Europe needs to recognise its own limitations.
• More than this, the EU needs vision. A serious intra-EU dialogue on overrepresentation in global institutions would allow for a more serious, deeper
partnership with the rising powers of Asia and a concrete acceptance of the importance of Asia. ASEM Leaders are aware of the real challenges posed by a rising Asia. However, Leaders should also persuade the public that this development provides a good opportunity for both regions to engage each other and to work towards international mechanisms that will facilitate cooperation and minimise friction.
Full information about the conference is available on the ASEF website:
http://asef.org/index.php?option=com_project&task=view&id=630
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