Catalyst of Change Session 2

“Catalyst of Change”

An Open Dialogue With

The Legendary Leaders of Asia

Fidel Ramos, Former Philippines President to Discuss Asian Development
Experience with Young Leaders

Date: Friday February 1, 2007
Time: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm (Manila time)

The session will be webcast live at http://vcg01.worldbank.org/TDLC/

Fidel Ramos, former Philippines President will speak to young professionals working throughout
the Asia Pacific region for the second session of "Catalysts of Change: An Open Dialogue with the
Legendary Leaders of Asia".

Organized by the World Bank East Asia and Pacific Region, the Global Development Learning
Network (GDLN) Asia Pacific and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), "Catalysts of Change" is a unique program which offers emerging young leaders in Asia an opportunity to learn from their seniors – a generation of leaders who laid the foundation for the region’s extraordinary growth. Sessions will be held throughout 2008 featuring inspiring leaders renowned for their contribution.

Mr. Ramos, who steered his country into a period of rapid economic growth during a time of
political transition, will engage in an in-depth discussion with over 300 young professionals who
work in both the public and private sectors. Participants from 12 Asia Pacific countries (Indonesia, Cambodia, Japan, Lao, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Fiji, PNG, Vietnam, Australia, Thailand, Philippines) will connect via GDLN videoconference to Mr. Ramos in Manila. Interviews will be conducted by World Bank East Asia and Pacific Communications Manager, Peter Stephens.

The program will be documented for future reference. Video recordings of all sessions will be
made available via the GDLN Asia Pacific website hosted by the Tokyo Development Learning
Center (http://www.jointokyo.org)

See the video and feature story on Session 1 held December 20/21, 2007 featuring ASEAN
Secretary General Ong Keng Yong and World Bank Vice President for East Asia Pacific James Adams at http://www.jointokyo.org/en/featured_stories/story/catalysts/.

Catalyst of Change

“Catalyst of Change”

An Open Dialogue With
The Legendary Leaders of Asia

Via videoconferencing-link with World Bank GDLN

Distance Learning Centers in Asia and the Pacific

To be moderated by Peter Stephens, Regional Communications Manager of the World Bank. Other invites will include the following:

Former Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew on the third week of January 2008;

Former President of the Philippines, Fidel Ramos on the third week of February 2008; and

Former Prime Minister of Thailand, Anand Panyarachun, on the third week of March 2008

Great strides have been made in achieving equitable growth and reducing poverty over the last 50 years. Globally, life expectancy at birth has risen by 20 years and adult illiteracy has been cut in half. Poverty rates have fallen with the proportion of people living in extreme poverty reducing from about 40 percent in 1981 to 21 percent in 2001.

These are fine achievements and within the East Asia region the success has been even greater – the percentage of people living in extreme poverty has been reduced from 30 percent in 1990 to 15 percent in 2001 – a trend that continues steadily today with poverty rates falling in almost all countries of the region. This Asian miracle is truly an example for other parts of the world. The lessons of Asia’s experience need to be distilled, captured and shared if future generations of leaders, in Asia and beyond, are to learn and benefit from the greatest period of poverty reduction in history.

A relatively small number of Asian leaders played a central role in this period. From different cultural backgrounds, and dealing with different economic, social and political challenges, they are all recognized for the extraordinary contribution they made to their country’s development and the region’s growth and stability. They are the catalysts of change who are responsible for generating the confidence, hope, vision, policies and drive within their countries that led to sustained economic growth and reduced levels of poverty and which resonated well beyond the borders of their countries. This handful of leaders stand out as people who made a difference: their leadership and vision created an environment that improved the lives of hundreds of millions of people and laid the base for sustainable growth in Asia.

These leaders are approaching the end of their public lives and they hold profoundly important knowledge about the successes and failures, the sequencing of decisions and relationship between different policy actions that have relevance to today’s generation of leaders.

Event Date: 21st of December 2007 (Session 1)

Structure:

1. Twenty emerging young leaders from each participating East Asia and Pacific country will attend a dialogue with outstanding Asian Leaders via the Global Development Learning Network (GDLN).
2. Following the interviews, participants will be invited to pose questions to the leaders.
3. After the question and answer session, the World Bank/development expert will moderate a discussion on the lessons learned.
4. At the end of the series, participants will be invited to submit a 750 word essay on their main lessons from the interview series and how they plan to apply these lessons to their own work.
5. A prize of $750 will be awarded to the three most insightful essays.The interviews and essays will be made available via the GDLN to a wider viewing audience and will be replayed as the basis for learning sessions as part of future

Contacts

Mr. Robbie Macalde
jmacalde@aim.edu
Ph: +632 892 40 11 ext 334
Fax: +632 8302234

Mr. Mel Cledera
vcledera@aim.edu
Ph: +632892 4011 ext. 254
Mr. Gio Candelaria
gcandelaria@aim.edu
Ph: +6328924011 ext.119

Catalyst of Change Invitation (PDF)

Philippines Participants

View session 1 pictures

Catalyst of Change Story

KIDS INITIATIVE Teachers Training Course

Multicultural education has become required learning for all children to better prepare them for a future in an increasingly interconnected world. "Kids Initiative" is a program run by the TDLC with the World Bank which incorporates videoconferencing to allow children to interact with their counterparts in other countries.

To make such sessions easier to facilitate within the school curriculum, the TDLC is coordinating a GDLN regional program which aims to create a tool-kit and training program for teachers. An advisory group of experts has been invited to participate in the process by providing input, both in Japan and from the region.

A Teachers Training Course will begin in December 2007 consisting of 4 modules, with Dr. Christopher Tan, an international expert on the use of technology in education based in Hong Kong, as the main lecturer. Teachers and practitioners are welcome. See flyer for more details.

Schedule:
Module 1: Saturday, December 15, 2007 3:00pm-6:00pm
Module 2: Saturday, January 26, 2008 3:00pm-6:00pm
Module 3: Wednesday March 1, 2008 2:00pm-5:00pm
Module 4: Thursday April 5, 2008 2:00pm-5:00pm


Program Flyers

Brick by Brick - The Building of an ASEAN Economic Community

As ASEAN heads toward the establishment of an Economic Community (AEC) by 2015, a new book “Brick by Brick The Building of an ASEAN Economic Community” which brings together authoritative studies on key issues and challenges will be launched on December 11, 2007 via a videoconference seminar sponsored by The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid) and The ASEAN Secretariat.

Brick by Brick Book Launch Program (PDF)