It was not a typical morning at The Verdure, a function hall at the prestigious De La Salle University in Taft Avenue, Manila. “Verdure” means “a condition of freshness,” as if to describe the budding diplomats flocked inside the room, the next generation of statesmen in the Pacific.
On October 10, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foundation inaugurated its third Model ASEAN Meeting (AFMAM). Eighty elected students from across the union assumed the roles of diplomats and delegations from each member state, mostly not those of their own.
In this sea of SEA youth sat a small woman in a red dress, studying her audience as she prepared to give her keynote speech. As she took the podium, however, all the focus of the event seemed to gravitate towards former Secretary of Foreign Affairs Delia Albert—yet she surrendered this honor to the diverse group in front of her.
“When I was invited two weeks ago, I happened to be in Manila, and I said, ‘Oh, another ASEAN meeting? Why not? Are they young or old?’ They said ‘young,’ that’s even better,” she said, eliciting the first of many laughs from the crowd.
From a student host’s introduction—obviously a fan—one can infer that Albert was a true rock star in the field of foreign relations, and she showed this as she spoke.
A former chair of the UN Security Council, Madame Albert immediately gave her audience a crash course in exercising authority. She recounted the time she chose, as her agenda, the role of civil society in post-conflict peace-building.
“Of course, my male colleagues said, ‘Oh, that belongs to the Socio-Economic Council, don’t talk about civil society in the Security Council,’” she said.
‘You’re chair, you decide’
Not wanting to give up on her proposal, Albert approached then Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who told her a wise adage she would live by for the rest of her tenure.
“’Madame Secretary, you’re chair. You decide,’” quoted Albert, which she then echoed to her disagreeing colleagues and used to push her agenda.
“When you believe something very passionately and ardently, and you happen to be chair, make use of it,” she added.
She did make use of it later on, particularly the ASEAN-European Union (EU) dialogue she headed in 1992. With several countries vying for the Center of Biodiversity, Albert used her sway as the chair to get it for the Philippines.
This anecdote on the center, now housed by the University of the Philippines-Los Baños, was an apt segue to the theme of the model meeting—“Anticipating Environmental Displacement of People due to Global Climate Change.” Albert noted one of the nation’s traits that makes it a perfect venue for such discussion.
“[The Philippines is] the ‘typhoon capital’ of Asia. We have an average of 20 to 26 typhoons a year, so you’re lucky you’re in the midst of one,” she said.
More importantly, she highlighted youth participation on ASEAN matters, the driving force behind this event.
“The region really is profiting from a rather young demographic base, which is part of—I think, I believe so—the propelling energy that’s making ASEAN move forward,” she said. “While you are there, you will really be the engines.”
Weaving the tapestry
As she led the delegates into the perspective of a real ASEAN meeting, she said they should embrace it being a “talk shop”—a bunch of presentations and discussions—as it is where the states’ political commitments are “spelled out.” She invited them to view these talks as if they were weaving the region’s tapestry.
“The thicker the threads come into a tapestry, the stronger the tapestry becomes,” she said. “I think one should not be too critical of all these interactions, and all these meetings, because that’s precisely what is weaving the fabric.”
She proceeded to inspire the youth with the achievements she saw ASEAN garnered in the last 50 years. Aside from establishing a ‘zone of peace,’ she mentioned the creation of a charter, community, connectivity and centrality—four Cs—highlighting the commitment of the nations in this region.
While she had been positive about the ASEAN’s strides over time, she acknowledges that the organization still has to develop an identity, and to strive for togetherness between the neighboring countries. However, Albert understands that the solution to these problems are no longer in her generation’s hands.
“[We have to have] a deep sense of shared destiny, that we are all in this together,” she said, after briefly enumerating what lies ahead for ASEAN. “These are the challenges that I offer the young to take note upon, to think about, to ponder, and contribute to.”
Once again, as she has heard for years, Albert made her way down the stage to a big round of applause. Just moments later, a barong-clad young man made his way up the same podium to play the role of the Philippine head of state.
He approaches the microphone, and, like Madame Albert and all those Filipinos before him, delivered a rousing message of hope—for the country, and for the people of Southeast Asia. (MRV-PIA)
