The AEC? How can the region go from illusion to reality?

Written with a young audience in mind, the clip centres around a group of children who are taken on a “special adventure” through the member countries before arriving at a place called the “Asean Community”.

The reality of personifying an Asean Community, however, is far more complicated. Urging 10 countries with unique social, political and economic identities to come together into one cohesive community would also be nothing short of an “adventure”, either.

A lot of work has already taken place in trying to realise this community. Exchanges on all levels of government and with non-government organisations happen on a regular basis. Ideas and conversations are often shared, and there is a lot of economic activity going on, one way or another, between the 10 Asean nations.

The truth is, with the clock ticking away, realising the Asean Community before 2015 might be stretching it.

Some time ago, a member of an Indonesian NGO whose work focuses on developing rural areas, shared his opinion on how the Asean Community was something that could only exist in leaders’ imaginations. He said that in Indonesia, out of 60,000 villages, more than 30,000 are without electricity. Most of these people without power often only concern themselves with their day-to-day survival, and have next-to-no room for thoughts on something as grand and obscure as an Asean Community.

Over 100 million people in the region, approximately one-sixth of the Asean population, live without electrical power, and it is likely that those people are more concerned about their own troubles, and rightfully so.

Focusing on a broader picture proves to be challenging when there are many loose ends still left untied. It is no secret that all 10 member states have national issues of their own, some duly attended to while others, though glaringly obvious, are left alone for the sake of order and balance.

This is why the proposal of a regional volunteer corps, to be established later in the year, is considered timely. Three initial short-term projects are earmarked to be carried out in Cambodia, the Philippines and Indonesia, are aimed at bringing together many young professionals to these countries, to make a difference. As one senior government official remarked, “It is a powerful image” – the image of a unified and strengthened Asean that would leave a powerful impression on the lives of people.

And this is the kind of image that communities throughout Asean need to see: young people working hand in hand to build bridges, teach children, educate farmers or help create local businesses and opportunities whilst ignoring the boundaries of ethnicity, race, religion or nationality, to make the quality of life generally better.

It is this kind of goodwill and trust that needs to be seeded among communities across Asean, to know that the borders that separate us are merely lines drawn on a map. Such goodwill is usually short in supply, not just in this region, but throughout the world.

The regional volunteer corps is a good idea, and the fact that nations are contributing only a small start-up fund (US$10,000 per nation) is actually a good thing, because anything beyond that will be proof that it is a community that cares, through the contributions of its people.

For this vision to come to fruition, the people in positions of authority, with the necessary means, must open their eyes and hearts to those who are in need of help. Ultimately, it boils down to the compassion and hope, ideas and willpower, of these individuals that will determine the success of the Asean Community of the future.