Public Lecture by Dr. Guido Benny from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Date: Tuesday, 12 September 2017 • 9.00 am • ASEM Room, Asia-Europe Institute, University of Malaya

Lecture Title:
Identities, Benefits, Impact and Supports for the ASEAN Community: Comparative Study between Public Opinion and Participation of the Young Generation in four ASEAN countries

Abstract: ASEAN has outlined ambitious plans to integrate the region by the end of 2015 through its community building initiatives. While the economic integration appears to be moving fast, the awareness and participation of young generation (Gen Y) in these initiatives seems to be lacking. It is expected that the Gen Y in ASEAN will increase from currently 22% of the population to 55% by 2020. The lecture will discuss “attitudes and participation” of the Gen Y in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam towards the ASEAN Community. More specifically, it examines in detail aspects of public awareness, attitudes, perceived relevancy, perceived impact, as well as preparedness, involvement and supports for the ASEAN Community amongst the Gen Y in these four countries taken from opinion survey responses from some 1,200 young people. Since researches based on opinion surveys about ASEAN are scarce, the lecture reveals valuable insights into the nature of attitudes and participation. It will also be useful for policy consideration and programme planning, aimed at integrating the Gen Y in the ASEAN Community regionalism initiatives.