On August 29, Indonesia hosted the thirtieth ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) 2023 Ministerial Council Meeting in Jakarta. The meeting was attended by Ministers of ASEAN Member States, the ASEAN Secretary-General, senior ASCC officials and the ASCC Deputy Secretary-General. They gathered to debate various socio-cultural issues within the region.
Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Social Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy, who chaired the session, revealed that certainly one of the essential objectives of the ASEAN General Assembly was to handle issues related to migrant staff.
ASEAN Secretary-General Dr. Kao Kim Hourn also attended the meeting, where various issues were discussed, including ASCC’s strategic directions in developing and ensuring ASEAN’s sustainable development, inclusiveness and resilience. In this regard, he said the meeting served as a platform to exchange views on establishing a powerful and inclusive ASCC beyond 2025.
Additionally, the ASEAN Secretary-General expressed his appreciation for Indonesia’s strong leadership because the Chair of ASEAN and the ASCC Council in 2023. He also emphasized the commitment to support Laos’ leadership in ASEAN in 2024.
The Special Staff for International Cooperation of the Coordinating Ministry for Human and Cultural Development (Menko PMK), Joko Kusnanto Anggoro, also revealed that the Declaration and Statement on Socio-Cultural Issues in ASEAN in 2023 had a really productive impact. According to him, there’s alignment between the problems discussed on the meeting and national agendas, especially those related to poverty reduction and stunting, equitable development activities, gender equality issues and so forth.
In addition, Indonesia’s achievements on this context will probably be presented, which is able to bring tangible advantages on the regional level. Moreover, Anggoro also stated that efforts are being made to make these socio-cultural issues certainly one of the essential pillars that can proceed to be supported by ASEAN leadership in the subsequent period.
Under Indonesia’s leadership, the ASEAN socio-cultural pillar has identified five key areas of focus. These include efforts to empower individuals with disabilities, measures to mitigate the consequences of climate change, strengthening families within the face of challenges, improving the standard of early childhood education, and the flexibility to sustainably adapt to natural disasters.
The plan will probably be formulated in official documents to be approved by the leaders of ASEAN member states on the forty third ASEAN Summit, which will probably be held on September 5-7, 2023.
These documents include the ASEAN Declaration on Inclusive Development and Partnerships for Resilient ASEAN Communities Facing Disability Challenges, the ASEAN Joint Statement on Climate Change adopted on the twenty eighth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-28). , ASEAN Declaration on Gender Equality and Family Development, ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on Early Childhood Care and Education within the Southeast Asian Region, and ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on Sustainable Opportunities within the Face of Disasters.
In addition, Indonesia also proposed the preparation of 13 other documents covering various areas resembling health, employment, rural network development, social protection, environmental protection and education. Before being discussed on the ASEAN leadership level, these documents will first be discussed on the thirtieth ASEAN Socio-Cultural Pillar Ministerial Council, or ASCC.
