Day 1: Thurs, 9 June 2022 10.00-10.45

COVID-19 pandemic has brought havoc globally as it is affected more than 190 countries including Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia is currently going through second wave of infections. The 10 ASEAN countries has reported 4,994,497 cases with deaths 94,029 by 3 July 2021. COVID-19 responses by countries in Southeast Asia have diverse intensity in imposing lock down from strictest to less strict measures. The key government policy to restrict human mobility aims to contain the virus from spreading and at the same time the governments are taking health, social, and economic responses to save lives and limit the impacts to human and economic of the countries. This panel brings together academics and scholars in charge with COVID-19 issues in their respective countries to share their countries on-going responses and challenges to deal with pandemic and way forward for cooperation to end the pandemic in Southeast Asia.

Day 2: Friday, 10 June 2022 09.00-09.45 

Across Southeast Asia, the region’s social and economy has been torn apart by COVID-19. The pandemic has uncovered the precariousness of healthcare systems, social protection, and the lack of financial resilience. The catastrophe struck a region already strained by geological disasters from earthquake to tsunami alongside climatic disasters from floods, cyclones to drought. Above all, the Southeast Asia nations are relatively young and still struggling to come out of the colonial past, especially in poverty, political stability, education, and infrastructure development. Systemic risks are characterized by high complexity. The COVID-19 has reminded us that risk is increasingly systemic with the cascading effect, undermining the progress in Southeast Asia. The disruption caused by COVID-19 has shown how existing governance and risk management systems are challenged in the face of significant crisis events. Multiple types of risks intersect and lead to ripple effects across various sectors and impacts across societies. We no longer able to address climate disasters, health, or environmental risk in separate approaches. We need a fresh look at addressing the contemporary interconnected risk landscape and introducing an agile process for current and future risks. Against this background, the roundtable topic is forward-looking. It will discuss what Southeast Asia knows about systemic risk, how it can be managed, and the challenges for effective risk governance. Further, the panel will explore whether a new risk governance paradigm is vital to navigating the new normal in a post COVID world. More importantly, how it will transgress to inclusive risk management under these complex issues.

Environment, climate change and natural resources management have been taking a center stage with policy makers and government across Asia. Experts recognize that Asia will be among hardest hit by the impacts of climate change. The climate crisis has put the very future of humanity at risk. However, the commitment to reduce emissions has been jeopardized as five Asian countries (China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, India) are investing in 80% of the world’s planned new coal plants. Air pollution level in Asia region is increasing with energy sector are responsible for the largest dioxide emissions. Transboundary haze pollution is also a persistent challenge. ASEAN region is also experienced decline of forest cover. Peat and mangrove forests are the most vulnerable forest types and are disappearing at a faster rate than other forest types. Coastal and Ocean are continuously under pressure of overfished and degraded. The economic growth- driven development of the ASEAN Member States (AMS) is fueling most of the increase in natural resource exploitation and ensuing biodiversity loss. It needs strong commitment and lot of hard work to achieve sustainable and resilient community. Enhanced cross sector coordination and engaging with all stakeholders the private sector, communities and civil society are very essential to promote effective adaptation plans and sustainable development.This round table discussion will see point of views from different academics and scholars in the region on a way forward to achieve more sustainable and resilient communities and sustainable development agenda in region.

Day 3: Saturday, 11 June 2022 09.00-09.45

As nations struggle to navigate their way in the pandemic situations that have been going on from the start of 2020, the dynamic of international politics is not something they can put aside. Relations among states and their stakeholder are still needed to be held through several adjustments such as fewer direct contact and virtual meetings. From all the issues discussed in the global forums, Indo-pacific is still one of the headlines. This new regional concept which aimed to highlight the geopolitical, geostrategic, and geoeconomic importance of the Pacific as well as the Indian ocean has generated pros and cons. The United States and its allies are rallying behind this concept, meanwhile, China and Russia tend to distance themselves from using it and prefer the previously used term Asia-Pacific. In responding to this competing perspective, ASEAN decided to launch ASEAN Outlook on Indo Pacific to ensure that the 10 membered regional organization will not be tangled in the competition. On the contrary, AOIP is an open proposal that stated four areas of cooperation that can be developed in the region with ASEAN partners regardless of their stance on Indo-Pacific. This round table will present various points of view about the Indo-Pacific and how this regional concept affects the global dynamics. ASEAN and the member states, which sit strategically within the Indo-Pacific hemisphere, will be the center of examination of each panelist.

The effort to produce articles and books in internationally refereed journals and publication has become a major concern for new generation of researchers and academics in various science discipline including social science. Science has become synonymous with modernity. Southeast Asia government has invested more in R & D to make them more academic knowledge-production intensive. Collaboration and co-authorship is a helpful way for young scholars and Non-English speaking countries to get started in publishing.This panel will bring opportunities for academics and scholars in Southeast Asia with more knowledge from reputable international publication how to finding the right place to publish your paper, open access, digital platform and indexes.