The Virtual launch of ASEAN Development Outlook (ADO) held on 15 March 2021

Around 150 delegates attended the conference. Delegates were from the SOCA leaders and their representatives, Chairs and Vice Chairs of ASCC Sectoral Bodies, Chairs of ASEAN SOM, SEOM, and AICHR, CPR, ASEAN Entities, the ASEAN Secretariat, Representative from the People’s Republic of China, and Lead Researchers from University of Cambridge.

The Virtual Launch of ADO remarked by H.E. Dato Lim Jock Hoi, Secretary-General of ASEAN, H.E. ZHAO Yingmin, Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China, and H.E. Hajah Nor Ashikin Binti Haji Johari, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports of Brunei Darussalam, Chair of Senior Officials Committee for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (SOCA)

The conference took place back-to-back with the 16th SOC-COM and the conference on region’s post COVID-19 recovery

**********

ASEAN Development Outlook, (hereinafter ADO), a high quality, authentic and reliable publication that provides the current state of affairs and outlook on inclusive and sustainable development in ASEAN.

The ADO supports the 5 characteristics of the ASCC Blueprint such as:

• Characteristic B. Promote equitable access and opportunity for ASEAN people, as well as promote and protect human rights;
• Characteristic C. Promote social development and environment protection through effective mechanisms to meet the current and future needs of the people; and
• Characteristic D. Enhance capacity and capability to adapt and respond to social and economic vulnerabilities, disasters, climate change as well as emerging threats, and challenges.

The ADO contributes to two objectives of the Framework Action Plan on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication 2016-2020, namely:

• Objective 1: Improved vulnerable groups’ and poor households’ access to and/or control of productive natural resources, financial and support services, and to social protection as a foundation to building capable, resilient, and self-sustaining households and communities; and
• Objective 2: Enabled poor and vulnerable groups to participate in the socio-economic opportunities including through financial innovation and strengthening social enterprise. By reporting on the current state of affairs and outlook on inclusive and sustainable development in ASEAN, the ADO serves as an authoritative source of strategic, yet practical policy recommendations for the sector of rural development and poverty eradication (RDPE), as well as other relevant sectoral bodies, to consider in their current and future work.

The ADO report supported by ASEAN-China Cooperation Fund (ACCF)