Each year the East-West Center invites rising young leaders from the United States and Asia Pacific to participate in The New Generation Seminar (NGS), a two-week intensive educational, dialogue and study tour travel program. The program is developed around a thematic focus and provides participants with an opportunity to strengthen their understanding of Asia Pacific-U.S. developments and challenges, build a regional network and to become leaders with a more international perspective. The first week of the program is held in Hawaii. In discussions with East-West Center researchers, other experts in the Hawaii community and one another, participants are introduced to key regional policy issues such as international relations, security, economics, population, health and environment. The second week involves field travel to either the United States or Asia Pacific for exploration of the program theme.

The 19th New Generation Seminar

Theme:  The Global Economic Crisis: Impacts and Responses in Asia

The world is facing what may be the first truly global economic crisis. The financial meltdown that began on Wall Street has become a crisis that reaches deep into the globally integrated financial and trading systems, posing very serious challenges for countries around the world. Asia’s vastly diverse economies have experienced the fallout in different ways, all of which are testing political, economic and social structures across the region.

The 19^th New Generation Seminar provided an opportunity for policy and decision-makers from Asia Pacific and the United States to develop a comprehensive perspective of how the financial crisis is affecting regional economies, how countries are responding nationally, and what countries are doing together. Participants traveled to Korea and Vietnam to compare the challenges and policy responses in two Asian countries representing different stages of economic development and different political systems. In Korea participants examined on how the crisis had affected a newly industrialized economy that has been one of Asia’s success stories since the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Vietnam offered a view of the impact on an emerging economy that has had the second highest growth rate in Asia for several years, but still remains a developing nation. Meetings and visits exposed participants to a wide range of perspectives from government, private sector, academia and civil society, to gain a better understanding of the causes, consequences and future implications of this unprecedented challenge to the global economy.

Program Dates:  October 4-18, 2009

Study Tour Destinations:  Honolulu, Hawaii; Seoul, Korea; Hanoi, Vietnam

For full information about the NGS please download the 19th NGS Background Summary

Congratulations to the 2009 New Generation Seminar participants:

• Mr. Thiem Hai BUI, Secretary to the President, Institute for Legislative Studies, National Assembly Standing Committee of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Hanoi, Vietnam
• Ms. Y. Laketa COLE, President Pro-Tem, Cincinnati City Council, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
• Mr. Manuel FLORES, Alderman, Chicago City Council, Chicago, Illinois, United States
• Mr. JIANG Hankang, Secretary to the Chairman, Financial and Economic Committee, Shanghai Municipal People's Congress, Shanghai, China
• Ms. KIM In-young, Director of International Affairs Bureau, Grand National Party, Seoul, South Korea
• Mr. Guntur Romli MOHAMAD, Program Coordinator for Discussion and Lecture, Salihara Community, Jakarta, Indonesia
• Ms. Farzana NOSHAB, Economic Policy Officer, Asian Development Bank, Islamabad, Pakistan
• Mr. Anand PAKKURTI, Director, Enpro Hitech Distributors Pvt., Chennai, India
• Mr. Chana PONGCHAROENKUL, Council Member, Chiang Mai Provincial Administration Organization, Thailand
• HRH Prince Abdul QAWI, Executive Deputy Chairman & CEO, QAF Brunei Sdn Bhd, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
• Mr. SEDBAZAR Otgonbat, Advisor to the Minister, Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, Government of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
• Mr. SIEW Kum Hong, General Counsel, Yahoo! Southeast Asia, Singapore

Full Biographies for 19th NGS Participants

The first New Generation Seminar was held in 1988, and since then a total of 277 participants from 25 Asia Pacific countries and the United States have participated in 18 seminars. The continuity of the program has been made possible by generous grants from the Freeman Foundation, which has funded the program for the past 13 years.

18th New Generation Seminar

The 18th New Generation Seminar was held from September 21-October 5, 2008. Participants traveled to Youngstown and Cleveland, Ohio and Washington, DC to explore "The Politics of Globalization."

For highlights from the 18th New Generation Seminar program please download the 18th NGS Newsletter.

Ann Hartman
NGS Program Coordinator
East-West Center
1601 East-West Road
Honolulu, HI 96848-1601
Phone: (808) 944-7619
Fax: (808) 944-7600
Email: ngs@eastwestcenter.org