The Honorable Aburizal Bakrie, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare, told the more that 500 assembled scholars, officials and business professionals – most of whom are Center alumni – that the current global economic crisis serves as a powerful reminder “of the need to improve our cooperative efforts, of our bonds together, of the common mechanisms that we can use to solve our problems.”
“We have to make the 21st century a century of progress and peace,” Bakrie said. “Let us avoid the fate of the previous century, with its world wars and bloody conflicts. The opportunities are plenty to make our world a much better place.”
(Click here to read the full text of Minister Bakrie’s remarks.)
U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Cameron R. Hume told the group that "over many years, our embassy has greatly valued the work of the East-West Center and its alumni in promoting international education and fostering mutual understanding. We know that Center programs build invaluable professional and personal relationships, enhance awareness and promote informed dialog.”
(Click here to read the full text of Ambassador Hume’s remarks.)
In his keynote address to the gathering, East-West Center President Charles E. Morrison observed that the conference’s theme of “Unity in Diversity” was inspired by Indonesia’s national motto, which in turn comes from an ancient Javanese poem proclaiming that “there is no duality in truth.”
“It is a beautiful thought – to respect and treasure diversity, while being united by fundamental values and principles,” he said.
(Click here to read the full text of President Morrison’s address.)
Noting the current global economic crisis and the fact that many Asia Pacific nations, along with the U.S., have seen recent changes in leadership, Morrison said that the current time of “extraordinary challenge is also a time of opportunity, because often in crises, with wise leadership, we see our vulnerabilities more clearly and can make needed changes.”
The EWC/EWCA 2008 International Conference will continue through Saturday at Bali’s Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel. The conference is being jointly held by the East-West Center, an internationally recognized education and research institution headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, and the East-West Center Association, the organization that represents the Center’s 55,000 alumni throughout Asia, the Pacific and the U.S., many of whom now serve in positions of responsibility in their respective fields. Sessions at the conference are focused on current regional issues, including international relations, security, democracy and Islam, global warming, volunteerism, gender issues, innovation, health, business, and social and cultural issues.
The Indonesian chapter of the Center’s alumni association is helping support the conference. Some 2,570 Indonesian scholars, researchers and professionals in business, government, journalism and the arts have participated in East-West Center cooperative programs since the Center was established in 1960.
For more information about the conference, visit: www.eastwestcenter.org/bali2008
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The EAST-WEST CENTER is an education and research organization established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peoples and nations of Asia, the Pacific, and the United States. The Center contributes to a peaceful, prosperous and just Asia Pacific community by serving as a vigorous hub for cooperative research, education and dialogue on critical issues of common concern to the Asia Pacific region and the United States. Funding for the Center comes from the U.S. government, with additional support provided by private agencies, individuals, foundations, corporations, and the governments of the region.