Asia-Europe Foundation
Aim
Advance mutual understanding and collaboration between the people of Asia and Europe through intellectual, cultural, and people-to-people exchanges; act as the civil society outreach of the Asia-Europe Meeting; work as a platform for Asia-Europe dialogue to stimulate permanent networks that reinforce Asia-Europe bi-regional relations; act as an interface between civil society and ASEM governments and consequently, contributes to the ASEM process by generating unique recommendations for officials' consideration.
History
In March 1996, the leaders of twenty-five European and East Asian countries, together with the European Commission, convened in Bangkok, Thailand, for the inaugural Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). This historic summit paved the way for the establishment of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) one year later in 1997.
IRD Activities
- Asia-Europe Youth Interfaith Dialogue
This youth dialogues involve youth representatives from religious organisations and networks in several ASEM countries, as well as experts in inter-religious dialogue. Participants exchange views and personal experiences based on their respective religious and spiritual traditions. The objective of this programme is to expand Asia-Europe youth co-operation in interfaith dialogue, and to generate new ideas for strengthening co-operation under the ASEM framework.
Main Focus Countries of Activities
Spain - Indonesia