ASIA PACIFIC AGENDA PROJECT (APAP) FORUMS
1995–2009
The Asia Pacific Agenda Project (APAP) was launched as a celebration of JCIE’s 25th anniversary—a moment at which we looked back on our accomplishments and ahead to the future agenda for improved regional relations. The first forum was a major event that brought together senior and emerging researchers, foundation officials, journalists, and other experts from Asia Pacific to discuss important trends, issues, and developments in the region. The annual forums served as the centerpiece of APAP, which was dedicated to strengthening and broadening networks among policy research institutions and intellectual leaders involved in Asia Pacific community building and to promoting objective policy-relevant research and dialogue activities within the region.
The APAP forum was conceived with three major goals in mind. First, the forum was to allow research directors and other key personnel of independent policy-oriented research institutions to compare views on emerging issues and their research and dialogue implications, particularly those issues at the boundaries of security, economics, and culture, areas usually considered separately from each other. Second, the forum was to assist in the institutional development of such research bodies by facilitating discussion of key issues such as funding, human resource development, relations with user communities, and the value of experiences from outside the region. Third, the forum was to assist in the development of a strong network among independent institutions and between them and foundation personnel. Because these goals cannot be attained in a single conference, it was decided that an APAP forum would be held annually in different locations in Asia Pacific.
The APAP forum was traditionally organized around a central theme that was explored beforehand by a multinational research team composed of researchers and scholars from various institutions in the Asia Pacific region. Themes included globalization and domestic adjustments, the new security agenda, governance and sustainable systems of development, and community building in Asia Pacific, among others.
THE FORUMS
APAP | Seoul Forum 2009
Held in Seoul on November 29–30, 2009, the 15th Forum brought the 2009 APAP project team together to discuss papers under the theme of “Regional Community Building and the Global Agenda: The Impact of Changing US Policy on the Emerging East Asia Community.”
APAP | Shanghai Forum 2008
The 14th APAP Forum was held in Shanghai on November 16–17, 2008, as part of the APAP program on “Growing Asia-Pacific Regionalism and New Opportunities to Advance Non-traditional Security Cooperation.”
APAP | Singapore Forum 2007
On December 14–15, 2007, nearly two dozen experts from around East Asia gathered in Singapore for the 13th APAP Forum on the “East Asia and a Rising India: Prospects for the Region.”
APAP | Bali Forum 2006
The 12th APAP Forum was held in Bali on November 27–28, 2006, and focused on the trilateral relationship that is emerging among three main pillars of global governance—East Asia, North America, and Europe in Global Governance.
APAP | Washington Forum 2005
JCIE and the United States Asia Pacific Council held a workshop in Washington, DC, with prominent experts from East Asia and the United States to examine the theme of “Engaging the United States in an Emerging East Asia Community.”
APAP | Tokyo Forum 2005
The Tenth APAP Forum was held on February 25-26, 2005, in Tokyo. Nearly 50 participants from throughout the Asia Pacific region gathered to discuss the theme of “Engaging the United States in an Emerging East Asia Community.”
APAP | Tokyo Forum 2004
The 9th APAP Forum was held in Tokyo on the theme of “Toward East Asian Community Building: New Challenges of Regional Cooperation and Partnership.”
APAP | Kunming Forum 2003
The 8th APAP Forum, held in Kunming, China, with the cooperation of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, focused on the theme of “The Rise of China and the Changing East Asian Order.”
APAP | Siem Reap Forum 2002
In coordination with the local host, the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP), the 7th annual Asia Pacific Agenda Project (APAP) Forum examined the topic of “Asia Pacific and the Global Order after September 11.”
APAP | Cebu Forum 2001
With the cooperation of the Institue of Strategic and Development Studies in the Philippines, the 6th APAP Forum centered on two major themes: “Vision of Asia Pacific in the 21st Century” and “Integrating New ASEAN Members into Asia Pacific.”
APAP | Okinawa Forum 2000
The 5th APAP Forum may be remembered as the last international conference attended by Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi. The forum was viewed by the late prime minister as an important occasion for him to hear the views of Asian intellectual leaders and those of the intellectual leaders of Okinawa as he prepared for the Group of Eight (G-8) Summit.
APAP | Singapore Forum 1998
The 4th APAP Forum was held at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore and focused on an ongoing collaborative research project, “Governance and Sustainable Systems of Development.”
APAP | Yokohama Forum 1997
The 3rd APAP Forum featured a session on the theme of “Values, Governance, and International Relations,” as well as discussions of Japan’s identity in a changing Asian context, and the research and dialogue agenda that APAP should pursue in the future.
APAP | Bali Forum 1997
The Bali Forum was the 2nd APAP Forum and it addressed the positive roles played by independent research institutions in regional international relations while also discussing the preliminary reports of two projects: “Domestic Adjustments in the Face of Globalization” and “The New Security Agenda.”
APAP | Tokyo Forum 1995
The Asia Pacific Agenda Tokyo Forum was held to commemorate JCIE’s 25th anniversary. The forum, attended by more than 150 leading representatives of policy research institutions from Asia, the United States, and Europe, was designed in part to celebrate JCIE’s accomplishments and to consider its future course. It also served as the founding meeting of the Asia Pacific Agenda Project (APAP), a multipronged research and dialogue project aimed at developing an effective collaborative network among policy research institutions in the region.
APAP EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
East-West Center (United States)
Institute of Asian Research, University of British Columbia (Canada)
Ilmin International Relations Institute, Korea University (Korea)
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University
Centre for Strategic and International Studies (Indonesia)
Institute of American Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (China)
Japan Center for International Exchange (Japan)
Institute of Strategic and Development Studies (Philippines)
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Singapore)