USAID Mission Director: ‘We are all connected’

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director Mr. Jon Lindborg spoke about “legacy”, “partnership” and the “future” as he discussed the friendship between USAID and Silliman University.

Mr. Lindborg, who represented USAID in its induction into the Order of Horace B. Silliman on January 24, considered the product of the determination of Dr. Horace B. Silliman to put up a school in a country where he had no connections “an amazing legacy.”

This legacy, he said, is one of many others that reinforce the connection between the Philippines and the US.

He said, over the hundred years of Silliman’s existence, the Philippines and the US share a special relationship as can be manifested, among others, by the presence of Americans in the Philippines and Filipinos in the US.

The Philippines, he said, may well be the country in the world with which the US “shares a more special relationship.”

“There had been many good times between our two countries. There had been tough times as we fought wars together. There had been difficult times in terms of our relationship. But through it all, even if we have had disagreements, we have always remained friends,” Mr. Lindborg said.

This friendship, he added, creates the legacy “that pulls us together and makes our countries better places to live in.” He mentioned how this legacy has benefited the US and the Philippines in terms of growth and development.

Mr. Lindborg also talked about partnership. He mentioned how he is impressed with “the partnerships that have made this University a great place.” Apart from foreign donors, he cited Silliman’s partnerships with its alumni, the private sector, and other organizations in the country and abroad.

The Mission Director also recognized the efforts of Silliman University Angelo King Center for Research and Environmental Management Director Dr. Angel Alcala, former Silliman President and Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, who, he said, helped established a partnership with USAID on programs that address the “blue issues.”

He relayed how Dr. Alcala, in his conversation with the USAID Mission Director in the 90s, directed USAID’s attention to the “blue issues” or those affecting the marine environment, at that time when USAID’s efforts were more at addressing the brown issues (pollution) and the green issues (forests and lands).

“It was because of your (Dr. Alcala’s) partnership with USAID that we have this great legacy in terms of what we do with our coastal resource management programs. And we are proud of them and are very impressed with the great work carried out by Silliman,” Mr. Lindborg said.

Silliman, with the assistance of USAID, and because of its continuing programs and research undertakings aimed at protecting the marine environment, is a Center of Excellence in Coastal Resource Management. The Institute of Environmental and Marine Sciences, headed by Director Dr. Hilconida Calumpong, is housed at the Marine Laboratory, a research facility donated by USAID.

Moving into the future, he told the audience composed mostly of students, that each has a role in the future “to make not only the Philippines but also the world a better place”.

“We are all connected,” he said, discussing how the Philippines and the US are both Pacific nations.

Mr. Lindborg explained: “We are at the east side of the Pacific; you are at the west side of the Pacific. But from outer space, when you look at the photo of the Earth, you see mostly blue…and that blue (ocean) that separates us actually links us.”

Toward the end of his speech, he stressed that he was receiving the recognition not only on behalf of USAID but also of the American people.

Mr. Lindborg was with Mr. Daniel Moore, Chief of the USAID Office of Energy and Environment, and Mr. Rene Acosta, Development Assistance Specialist of the same Office.

The Order of Horace B. Silliman is a prestigious recognition conferred upon individuals, families and organizations whose gifts and donations with a value of at least P1 million continue to help realize the University’s mission of providing better opportunities to its students and the members of both Silliman and the larger community of Dumaguete.
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Former Senator Dr. Jovito R. Salonga will be the guest speaker at the launching of the University Christian Life Emphasis Week (UCLEW) celebration on February 3, during the 9:45 morning service at the Silliman University Church.

The recipient of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service in 2007, Dr. Salonga will speak on the theme “Growing in Christ: Living by the Truth and in Love.”

This semester’s UCLEW celebration seeks to prepare more the graduating students as they pursue their respective careers. Faith-enriching activities following the theme are lined up for the students and the rest of the Silliman community to take part in from February 2 to 9.In an earlier morning service on February 3, the SU Church will be hosting as speaker Rev. Barton Kelso, who had served as pastor of the First United Presbyterian Church at Cambridge, Massachusetts for 25 years.

After the 9:45 service, Dr. Salonga will be launching his book, Not by Power or Wealth Alone. The title of the book, as Dr. Salonga wrote in the introduction, “is a takeoff from Deuteronomy 8:3 and from a statement of Jesus Christ, as found in Mathew 4:4 – ‘Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Chief Justice Reynato Puno wrote about the book: “Not by Power or Wealth Alone richly and powerfully inspires readers to step back, take a long view and search into their innermost selves to find the strength – which comes not from worldly wealth or power, but from the cross on which hung a most loving God in all his frailty and glory – and wield this strength to fight the evils that grip our beloved country and serve the least of our brethren.”

On August 26, 2006, recognizing the contributions of Dr. Salonga to the legal profession, Silliman University launched the Dr. Jovito R. Salonga Center for Law and Development with Dr. Salonga as the guest of honor.

The Center is guided by three core elements: Legal Education & Training, Legal Advocacy, and Research. It uses an interdisciplinary approach to make these elements operational – combining the faculty, staff, and students from different fields of the academe to study and apply the law in pursuit of a better society. This approach supplements and enriches the teaching of law with an interdisciplinary study and research of law, and legal service to the people through free legal representation and assistance, paralegal training to law enforcers and local community leaders and volunteers.
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A Mass Communication junior is one of the winners in the essay writing category of the International Earth Year Students Competition themed “Earth Science for Society”.

Hannah Lyn Creencia’s essay, “My Dream: A Dying Reality”, won her an all-expense paid trip to Paris, France to attend the global launching of the International Year of the Planet (IYP) on February 12 to 13.

This global launch event will feature world leaders in politics, science, and other fields sharing their views on three topics: Population Growth and Climate Change: Challenges for Planet Earth; Resources: Threat or Treat; and Geohazards: Minimizing Risk-Maximizing Awareness.

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly, according to the earthyear.org website, declared the start of IYP from January 2007 to December 2009, with 2008 as the central year of the triennium or the UN Year. The IYP is a joint initiative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the International Union of Geological Sciences. Its ultimate goal is to help build safer, healthier and wealthier societies around the globe. (Celeste June D. Rivera)
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Dr. Earnani Guingona Meñez, Botanist Emeritus of the Botany Department of the Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, USA received a special recognition from Silliman University in a simple ceremony held late last month.

Silliman honored Dr. Meñez for his contributions to the University’s Marine Science program during the last 30 years.

Dr. Meñez first visited Dumaguete in the 1960s when he was a student at the University of Hawaii. His first introduction to Silliman was when he was a member of the Smithsonian Institution Expeditions to the Philippines in 1978 and 1979.

He popularized the study of seaweeds in the Philippines by holding phycology (the study of algae) symposia-workshops, giving short courses on phycology at various universities, training Filipino students at Smithsonian, assisting Philippine scientists with references and specimen identification, publishing on Philippine seaweeds, and facilitating the exchange of information between US and Filipino scientists. He has also hosted Sillimanians visiting the Smithsonian.

Among those from Silliman who trained and collaborated with him are Institute for Environmental and Marine Sciences (IEMS) Director Dr. Hilconida Calumpong, with whom he co-authored papers, including the “Field Guide on Common Mangroves, Seagrasses and Algae of the Philippines”, which won the National Book Award (for Science), IEMS Assistant Director Dr. Janet Estacion, IEMS researchers Ms Pablina Cadiz and Ms Jacinta Lucañas, and former Chemistry faculty member Mr. Chester Dumangcas.

Dr. Meñez, who holds a Ph.D. major in Botany degree from the University of New Hampshire, an M.S. in Botany from the University of Hawaii and a B.S. in Botany from the University of the Philippines, is a recipient of the Pamana Award, the highest award given to a Filipino by the President of the Philippines.
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United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director Mr. Jon Lindborg will be in Silliman University for the induction of the USAID into the Order of Horace B. Silliman on January 24.

The Order of Horace B. Silliman is a prestigious recognition conferred upon individuals, families and organizations whose gifts and donations with a value of at least P1 million continue to help realize the University’s mission of providing better opportunities to its students and the members of both Silliman and the larger community of Dumaguete.

USAID has been supporting Silliman in its various projects, including research works of the Institute of Environmental and Marine Sciences (IEMS) under the Coastal Resource Management Program of the Department of Energy. This support has made Silliman a Center of Excellence in Coastal Resource Management, allowing the University to develop programs aimed at sustainable management of coastal resources. The USAID also funded the construction of the new Marine Laboratory building, a facility of IEMS, inaugurated in 1998.

Mr. Lindborg will receive the recognition in a simple ceremony at the Multimedia Center to be attended by members of the University Leadership Council and former USAID scholars. Accompanying Mr. Lindborg in his trip will be Mr. Daniel Moore, Chief, USAID Office of Energy and Environment, and Mr. Renerio Acosta, USAID Local and National Governance Advisor.
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The Philippine Association of Academic and Research Libraries (PAARL) has selected the Silliman University Main Library as the recipient of its Outstanding Library of the Year Award.

Silliman is the first school from outside Luzon to receive such award. Other awardees in the past include the libraries of the Asian Development Bank, International Rice Research Institute and Ateneo de Manila University, last year’s recipient.

In her letter, Ms Dionisia Angeles, Chair of the Awards Committee, wrote: “This award gives recognition to an outstanding library that contributes to academic librarianship and library development in the Philippines.”

The SU Main Library houses over 200,000 volumes of books, and maintains subscriptions to online electronic databases, CINAHL (database of nursing and allied health literature) and EBSCO MasterFile Elite (database of multidisciplinary literature), among others. It also boasts of automated library processes from cataloguing to circulation, a CyberLibrary, and three centers open to the public for free: World Bank Knowledge for Development Center, American Studies Resource Center and Philippine-American Educational Foundation Satellite Advising Center.

Silliman will receive a plaque and a cash gift at the Annual General Assembly and Induction/Awards Ceremonies of PAARL on January 25 in Manila.
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Silliman University Student Government President Lycar Flores is one of this year’s Ten Outstanding Jose Rizal Model Students of the Philippines.

The Knights of Rizal Supreme Council recognized Flores for “embodying Rizal’s qualities of academic excellence, leadership, and involvement in extra-curricular activities in the local, national, and international level.”

A Management senior, Flores is a consistent honor student and recipient of the Outstanding Student award from her freshman to junior years.

Meanwhile, two Silliman students qualified for the 10th Ayala Young Leaders Congress, after undergoing a rigorous selection process that included a panel interview with Ayala executives.

Mass Communication senior Stacy Danika Alcantara and Accountancy junior Gerswane Omaguing will join 70 student delegates from around the country in a leadership training from February 5 to 9 at the San Miguel Corporation Management Training Center in Alfonso, Cavite.
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Dumaguete City Chief Fire Marshall William Tacaldo Jr. was the resource person and facilitator during the Operational Readiness Training and Seminar conducted for the Silliman University Volunteer Fire Brigade.

Held late last month, the activity trained 33 fire volunteers on techniques in fire fighting, including handling of the hose and ladder, and the use of “blanketing” in ensuring the safety of both fire fighters and fire victims as they put out a fire.

The SU Volunteer Fire Brigade was formally organized recently, although the volunteers have been making available their assistance for over a decade already. It has, for several times, been recognized by the City Government for its quick response to fire situations.
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Senator Lacson: Number of Filipinos Experiencing Hunger Grew 3 times in 5 years
Senator Panfilo Lacson, in his speech during the opening ceremonies of the National MDG (Millennium Development Goals) Summit for Young Filipino Leaders held January 10 at the Luce Auditorium, spoke of how the problem of hunger and education is worsening in the country, despite the country’s resources.

“In the country, despite vast resources, hunger has been rising to record highs,” he said.

The Senator cited statistics from the Social Weather Stations, revealing that the percentage of Filipinos experiencing hunger has grown three to four times, in a space of five years.

“From a range of 5.1 to 9.4 percent of the population in 2003, it became 7.4 to 15.1 percent in 2004, then 12 to 16.7 percent in 2007, 13.9 to 19 percent in 2006, and 14.7 to 21.5 percent in October of 2007,” the Senator narrated.

He said that while the government “crows about some improvement in the latest figures for the last quarter of the year that passed”, which, according to polls, registered a 16.2 decrease in involuntary hunger, the problem has still not been addressed.

“But one swallow does not a summer make, and while we report statistics that show the GNP rising principally on account of dollar remittances from OFWs and the concomitant consumption it generates in the domestic market, the fact that hunger and poverty multiply exceedingly, makes such growth meaningless for the teeming millions of our people,” the Senator said.

The Senator also shared statistics that highlights the problems of lack of classrooms and qualified teachers and the high dropout rate among the youth.

He said that this year alone, there is a shortage of more than 17,000 classrooms, and the number of out-of-school youth is pegged at 11.6 million. There is also a need, he said, to hire more than 12,000 qualified schoolteachers, with a present ratio of one public school teacher for every 35 students in the elementary and one teacher for every 39 students in high school.

“We used to be among the top performers in public education in Asia, along with Thailand, South Korea and Sri Lanka… But there is no denying that today, we are among the lowest performers in Asia and the world, especially in mathematics and science,” the Senator said.

In terms of quality of education, the Senator said the Philippines now ranks 101st among 125 countries, “faring no better than Burkina Faso and Ethiopia in Africa and Myanmar in Asia.”

With the national budget of P1.227 trillion, which is also considered to help address pressing concerns of the country, pending before Congress, he then asked: “How does this budget square off with the Millennium Development Goals?”

It was in his response to this question, through details of how the Senate is proposing allocations for priority concerns that are also aimed at fulfilling the country’s commitment to the MDGs, that he commended the efforts of SU Board of Trustees Chairperson Prof. Leonor Magtolis-Briones, who is concurrently Convenor of Social Watch Philippines.

“The truth is in the details of the national budget, in contrast to the views of Social Watch Philippines, whose most ardent advocate is a lady from Negros Oriental, one for whom my personal admiration could hardly do justice to the intensity of her patriotic commitment – Prof. Leonor Magtolis-Briones.”

He said, during the Senate’s budget deliberation, he questioned “the multitude of discretionary appropriations, treated as slush funds, for the Office of the President”. The Senator’s narration of the various programs and projects on which the appropriations would be spent amount in the billions.

Driven by their advocacy for the MDGs, the Senator said he and his colleagues in the Senate minority proposed additional appropriations for certain programs amounting to P12 billion. These programs range from construction of school buildings to hiring of teachers and increasing their benefits to feeding and health and nutrition programs to medical and research development.

This amount of P12 billion will be taken from the country’s “savings”. “Because the present budget was crafted with a P46-P48 to USD1 ballpark exchange rate, and we have been doing P42-P45 to USD1 on account of the woes of the US economy, the savings in interest payments on our foreign debt is quite substantial,” he explained.

The Senator said that as the country moves toward achieving the MDGs, the government should also be committed to leading with integrity and accountability.

“Corruption in the highest levels has had a demonstration effect all the way down the bureaucracy,” he said. “I shirk in shame as a Filipino when Transparency International labels our country the most corrupt in Asia.”

A study made by foreign lenders, he said, estimated that at least 20 percent of the country’s expenditures – or at least P245 billion of this year’s budget – “would go to waste in the dark pits of corruption…on top of the projected 40 percent loss caused by inefficiency in revenue generation.”

He said, “graft and corruption denies the poor the basic services which are government’s responsibility, and the middle class the security and comforts they deserve. Corruption sucks from the ordinary Filipino what it pays up to the greed of the powerful.”

Ending his speech, the Senator emphasized the value of education. He said he was born to a poor couple whose dream was to send a large brood of eight children to school and get college degrees.

“Their dreams were modest. Since they did not possess material things to bequeath, good education was all that they could provide their children. They themselves did not have decent education, which explains why they were poor,” the Senator shared.

But, according to him, his father, a driver, and his mother, a housewife who augmented the family’s income by buying dry goods and textiles in Divisoria, were able to send all of them to school. All eight of them are now professionals.

The Senator is the author of the Anti-Money Laundering Control Act of 2001, the Alternative Youth Training Course, an optional program for college students, and the Anti-Human Trafficking Act of 2001. He was Chief of the Philippine National Police before he ran for a seat in the Senate.
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United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) Senior Programme Officer Mr. Colin Davis shared his evaluation of the Philippine’s compliance with the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) during the opening ceremonies of the National MDG Summit for young leaders held January 10 at the Luce Auditorium.

In the event attended by over 900 students, 125 of whom are delegates coming from different parts of the country, Mr. Davis shared 14 issues and concerns on which he based the Philippines’ ability to meet the eight MDGs.

“Will the Philippines make it?” he asked. Mr. Davis shared a slide containing two columns labeled “Possible” and “Low”, stressing the challenge to the Philippine government in enhancing information campaign about the MDGs down to the grassroots, and in increasing the rate at which it is addressing relevant social concerns.

Mr. Davis revealed that the Philippines has a 30 percent dropout rate. Compared to other countries, he said most of those who quit school in the Philippines are men. This, he said, highlights the need for the government to provide a more conducive learning atmosphere that will allow the youth to focus on their studies.

Summing up his assessment, he said that while overall statistics shows the Philippines going in the direction of reaching the targets, the rate at which it is doing so is very slow that it might not be able to meet the goals by 2015.

The Philippines, as a UN member, is a signatory to the Millennium Declaration, and it takes on the challenge of meeting the eight MDGs: (1) eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, (2) achieve universal primary education, (3) promote gender equality and empower women, (4) reduce child mortality, (5) improve maternal health, (6) combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, (7) ensure environmental sustainability, and (8) develop a global partnership for development.

Sharing solutions, he said young people can help in achieving the MDGs by being the best student that they can be in school, and knowing what their contributions can be to achieving them. He also said, recognizing the deficiency in awareness, that the young people can also facilitate discussion about the MDGs with their classmates and different members of the community.

On the part of government, he said that there is need for it to ensure transparency and accountability in its transactions, strengthen government-private partnership, address wide disparities across regions, slow the high population growth rate, improve performance of the agriculture sector, and accelerate the implementation of basic education and health reforms.

Mr. Davis was with United Nations Development Programme Communications Specialist Ms Agnes Shari Aliman, a Silliman alumna.
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Addressing the poverty problem of the country takes addressing first the “poverty of the mindset.”

This was one of the opening statements of Dr. Francis Kong, CEO of FunWorks Inc. and one of the country’s renowned inspirational speakers and authors, explaining how the mindset of people contributes to the worsening problems of the country.

Dr. Kong said everything starts in the mind, and that “the people today are the products of the decisions they made yesterday.” He spoke of three gaps that stand as roadblocks to achieving success and addressing the problem of poverty.

The first is the “skills gap”. He said the challenge to academic institutions in the Philippines is to churn out graduates with the rights skills for the corporate world. The inability of institutions to develop relevant and emerging skills in their graduates passes on the burden of training to the employer. This, Dr. Kong, explained, costs the organization large sums of money.

The second is the “values gap”. He said a growing number of young people ruin their lives with how they have themselves influenced by culture and the things around them. To crystallize his point, he mentioned a businessman who shared with him statistics on items that are most salable in his relative’s convenience store located near a call center. It caught the attention of students, who guessed coffee was most salable, when Dr. Kong revealed that it was condoms.

The third is the “leadership gap”. While success is easy, he said succession is not. The present society now, he said, needs to breed a culture of leadership within the young people. The retirement of older, more experienced executives leave management responsibilities to the younger generation. But while there may be a mix of talent and creative minds under the top bracket of the organizational structure, there is a need for leadership to be enhanced to raise the standards. When those at top level management fail to innovate and raise the standards, the development at the bottom will be limited as top level management serves as the lid or ceiling of growth.

Dr. Kong advised the participants in the National MDG Summit for Young Filipino Leaders to continue learning even outside the school. He said learning is better when it becomes a commitment instead of a requirement for compliance to people.

He also stressed on the importance of attitude over skills, reminding students that as they strive to be successful, they should do so without comprising their integrity and values.

Dr. Kong gives an average of 300 talks every year.
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Silliman University President Dr. Ben S. Malayang III has been appointed as member to Advisory Council on Climate Change Mitigation, Adaptation and Communication of the Philippine Government.

Dr. Malayang, considered as among the country’s well-respected environmentalists and former Undersecretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), sits in the Advisory Council with eight other notable environmental experts.

Chaired by DENR Secretary Jose Atienza Jr., the Advisory Council is tasked to, among others: advise and recommend policies to the DENR and the Inter-Agency Committee on Climate Change pertaining to climate change mitigation, adaptation and communication; review proposed Philippine positions on certain issues under consideration of the United Nationals Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties; and identify and assess vulnerabilities and propose courses of action on climate change mitigation and adaptation for implementation in all levels.

The creation of the Advisory Council is in compliance with Administrative Order No. 220, supporting Republic Act No. 8749, tasking the DENR to prepare and fully implement a national plan for compliance with international commitments on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

To promote awareness on the issue of climate change, Dr. Malayang will also be conducting a public lecture in February to an audience composed of students and teachers from different schools in Dumaguete City and members of the business sector and other concerned organizations.
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Stacy Danika Alcantara (Mass Communication) and Nikko Paolo Cablao (Biology) were two of eight students from different universities in the country that helped the Philippines hold on to the same award for three consecutive years.

Themed “Uniquely Ours”, the exhibit featured booths set up by delegates coming from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Philippine delegation’s booth showcased a Filipino twist in the nativity scene with scarecrows and a hut made of Philippine grass and bamboo taking center stage.

The holy family took on the colors of the Philippine flag, with a blue cloth draped over what was supposed to be the Virgin Mary, a red cloth for Joseph, and a white cloth draped underneath an antique sculpture of the child Jesus.

“Instead of the usual three kings from Persia, each of the magi represented each of the major island groups in the Philippines, bearing instruments from each of the island groups as well,” Alcantara explained.

She said that one of the magi was clad in a festive Ifugao garb and held a nose flute to represent Luzon, another was dressed up in a native hat and camisa de chino, and bore a guitar to represent the Visayas, while the third one was dressed up as a datu and bore a handheld gong to represent Mindanao.

The SYC is an annual event sponsored by Temasek Holdings of Singapore and the Singapore Technologies Endowment Program (STEP). It aims in bringing together the youth from the ASEAN as well as other neighboring countries in Asia for cultural interaction and understanding.
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Each retiree received On this Side of the Jordan, a book of sermons by Dr. Proceso Udarbe, former Acting President of Silliman. Dr. Udarbe also attended the reception along with former Silliman President Dr. Angel Alcala to receive a medallion specially crafted to honor past Silliman Presidents.

The reception was Silliman’s way of showing gratitude to the retirees for the service that they have rendered in the University, helping build it into one of the country’s well-respected educational institutions.
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Organized by the United Nations Youth Association of the Philippines, the four-day summit is an official event of the United Nations Resident Coordinator of the Philippines, the International STAND UP Campaign against Global Poverty, and the Taking it Global International.

It takes on the theme “B.I.L.I.B. Young Leaders: Stand Up, Move, Lead!”, highlighting an acronym which stands for UNYAP’s principle: Believe, Innovate, Lead, Inspire and Build.

The summit will kick off with an opening ceremony at the Luce Auditorium featuring as speakers officials of the United Nations, headed by its Resident Coordinator Ms Nileema Noble, leadership guru Dr. Francis Kong and Senator Panfilo Lacson, among others. In the next days, participants will be treated to an enriching line-up of activities that include leadership workshops, youth-project immersions, and action planning.

Conceptualized after the celebration of the International Youth Day which commenced after the United Nations General Assembly, the summit serves to promote youth participation and address issues concerning them. It also seeks to encourage youth involvement in the achievement of programs for sustainable development and technological innovations.
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SEARCA is also collaborating with the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity (ACB), Bioversity International Regional Office (for Asia, Pacific and Oceania), and the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF-Philippines) on this two-day conference which will provide the venue for an international discussion of opportunities for adapting to and mitigating climate change, while enhancing the conservation of biodiversity in the region.

A keynote, thematic papers, and case studies in participating countries will highlight the activity on the first day. The second day will be a workshop or mini-roundtable discussion to identify the elements of a feasible regional research-for-development program on biodiversity and climate change, with short talks by representatives of the donor community on their perspectives in supporting such efforts in the Southeast Asian region.

The conference-workshop also aims to forge prospective partnerships and identify a network of experts and collaborators who could assist in developing the regional program and implementing it in the future.
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