This past year marked a significant chapter for ASEF. Amid the continued suspension of ASEM meetings, we remained committed to our mission and strengthened our efforts to connect Asia and Europe through people-to-people exchanges across the thematic areas of Culture, Education, Governance, Media and Public Health.
For Culture, the Asia-Europe Cultural Festival celebrated its largest edition, featuring 10 artistic events held in Singapore and Italy from June to September 2024. Education continued its flagship projects, including the ASEF Young Leaders Summit, InnoLab and ClassNet, and also launched a new initiative called Science and Technology Diplomacy. On Governance, ASEF maintained its focus on the Human Rights Seminar and Public Diplomacy Training. On Media, we enhanced the asef.org website for a better user experience and showcasing of ASEF activities. The ASEMInfoboard website was also revitalised with monthly features of topics of interests to both Asia and Europe. In Public Health, ASEF strengthened its external collaboration through the signing of an MOU with the National University of Singapore Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health to jointly help build trust and facilitate communication in support of multilateral cooperation in public health. Overall, ASEF implemented 12 projects in 2024 and continued its collaboration with key international partners, including UNESCO and the WHO.
Significantly, 2024 was also a year of ASEF leadership transition. Ambassador MORIKAWA Toru completed his term as Executive Director and the new Senior Management, comprising Executive Director Ambassador Beata STOCZYŃSKA and Deputy Executive Director Mr ZHANG Lei, officially assumed office in October 2024. Under the new leadership, ASEF has identified five strategic priorities for 2025 aligned with its three-year strategy (2023 to 2026). These are introducing a “Topic of the Year”; strengthening initiatives under Governance and Sustainable Development (GSD); ensuring long-term financial sustainability; expanding ASEF’s visibility both locally and internationally; and improving overall communication efforts.
ASEF’s work and achievements are only possible with the strong support and contributions from its partners, and for these we are deeply grateful.
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