ASEAN and the EUROPEAN UNION

ASEAN and the European Union have been partners for 25 years in a world that is undergoing rapid changes. The need for a cooperation based on trust includes the wish for more information about each other and permanent contacts and talks with one another.
With this publication which was launched at a book presentation on 16. June the Konrad Adenauer Foundation wishes to let authoritative personalities from the European Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament share their insights about the institutions.
This book is also meant as an indispensable compendium of the major European institutions and a practical-oriented reference book for establishing contacts with the European players.

Best Practices in Journalism Education in the Information Age: Proceedings
Edited by Violet S. Valdez, Chay Florentino Hofileña, Mark Vincent Escaler, and Werner vom Busch
Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University, 2005

The contributions to this book reflect on more than four years of interactive online learning provided at the Konrad Adenauer Center for Journalism (CFJ) at the Ateneo de Manila University. First presented at a workshop at the Ateneo in December 2004 by CFJ faculty members from the Philippines, U.K. U.S.A., Australia, and India, the chapters draw on the faculty’s rich teaching experience and identify best practices.

Divided into five parts, the book tackles different aspects of online journalism education. First there are the forewords.
Because online learning is a qualitatively different mode of learning, replete with its pedagogical limitations as well as possibilities, PART II (‘Breaching the Limits’) engages with issues such as how to establish and manage effective collaborative learning relationships. PART III (‘Managing Participation’) deals with the management of active and meaningful student participation through the use of asynchronous and synchronous modes of teaching.

PART IV (‘Assessing Performance’) deals with perennial questions such as how to evaluate student performance in a multicultural classroom and how to ensure that academic standards are met. PART V, finally, complements the contributions on online pedagogy by tackling ‘Trends and Futures’ in online journalism education such as ‘Grokking WebCT’.

The volume, sponsored by the Media Programme Asia of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, is recommended reading for online journalism educators as well as those more generally interested in the rapidly evolving field of online pedagogy.

Werner vom Busch & Tobias Rettig (eds.):
6th Asian-European Editors’ Forum, Singapore, 2006

This book brings together a collection of presentations and the respective question and answer sessions derived from the Sixth Asian-European Editors’ Forum, which was held from 28 to 31 August 2005 in Jakarta, and organized by the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation in co-operation with the Jakarta Post.

The first three contributions give first-hand accounts by leading Indonesian policymakers. President Yudhoyono hence takes stock of his first ten months in office and some of the key policy issues ahead. Dr. Mulyani Indrawati, his then Minister of State for National Development Planning, covers policy issues crucial for the Indonesian economy. The Head of the Aceh and Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency, Dr. Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, provides an insight into his experience with reconstructing the tsunami-ravaged areas.

Seasoned advisers, analysts, academics, and activists added their insights into issues relating to international politics, terrorism, and Islam. Hence Jusuf Wanandi, co-founder of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, discusses emerging challenges for the East Asian region. Dr. Bahtiar Effendy reflects on the congeniality of Islam and civic society in Indonesia, while Zainah Anwar from Malaysia’s ‘Sisters in Islam’ gives a first-hand account of her organization’s struggle for more women’s rights within Islam. The strained media coverage of Islam was the topic of Stephen Schwartz’s presentation, whereas Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group provides an informed insight into recent trends in terrorism in Indonesia and Southeast Asia.

Available for download as pdf file.

Syed Farid Alatas (ed.):
Covering Islam: Challenges and Opportunities
for Media in the Global Village
Singapore, 2005

Although the media coverage of Islam is a much discussed topic, the chapters of this volume attempt to discuss a number of different aspects of the problem instead of engaging in the usual ‘revelations’ of Western media bias as far as reporting on Islam is concerned. This compendium of scholarly articles discusses issues surrounding the presentation of religion and ideology in the modern world and aims to seal gaps in interfaith understanding that could have existed due to media representations on inter-religious, civilization and ethnic tensions. It is also a platform where concerns of the media are aired as well, leading to a better appreciation of its role in the development of civic society.

Written by a mix of scholars and media practitioners, these articles address theoretical issues as well as provide anecdotal evidence in charting the terrains of the media coverage of Islam. They encompass the broad ethical underpinnings of media practices and comparison of the East and West coverage of Islam. Case studies of Western, American and Malaysian media address the challenges that both the Muslim and non-Muslim-controlled media need to address. The book wraps up with prospects of harnessing inter-religious harmony through media agencies.

These articles are a documentation of the presentations made at the International Seminar on ‘Covering Islam: Challenges and Opportunities for Media in the Global Village’. Held in Singapore in September 2005, the seminar was organized by Singapore’s Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs (RIMA) and supported by the Singapore-based Media Program Asia of the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation.

Available for download as pdf file.

Promoting and Strengthening the Rule of Law through Constitutional Jurisdiction

Cooperation, exchange of experience and dialogue on the level of Constitutional Courts Justices within Asia, and also between Asia and Europe, are important aspects towards the strengthening of Constitutional Jurisdiction.

This publication is a collection of papers presented during the Second Regional Seminar of Asian Constitutional Court Judges held in Bangkok, Thailand. The contributors to this volume include Justices, Legal Experts and Members of Constitutional Jurisdiction bodies in Cambodia, Mongolia, Korea, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Prof. Dr. Ernst Benda, Former President of the German Federal Constitutional Court, is featured with a special contribution on "Conflicts between National and Supranational Courts: The European Experience".

East Asia and Latin America –
The Encounter of two Continents

Improvements in transport, telecommunications and information technologies are ushering in the age of Cross Pacific Trade. With calls by member countries to link APEC objectives with those discussed at the January 2004 Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC), KAS subsequently organised a Workshop, titled "The Encounter of Two Continents" in Singapore.

This publication contains papers presented at the Workshop, covering topics such as the growing interdependency of East and Southeast Asia and Latin America, inter-country trade and SME relations, potential academic and cultural exchanges, and improvement of regional bilateral ties.

The ASIA Media Directory

The importance of communication in the information age cannot be overstated. Nor can the fact that in this enterprise, journalists and media owners play a pivotal role. For this reason, a directory which takes stock of the status of print and broadcast media in each Asian country and lists all the major media outlets operating in this region is a welcome source.
The second publication of the Media Directory by the Asia Media Programme of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung is expanded to include not only the ASEAN countries as in the first edition, but also China, India, Korea and Taiwan.

Available to be downloaded as pdf file.

Young Leaders' Forum:
Vision Asia: Imagine ... 2015

Young Leaders from all over Asia discussed about future aspects of Asia in politics, economics, media, arts and culture. Two days of highly qualified lectures, e.g. from His Excellency Tan Sri Musa Hitam, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, on the political future of this region, and intense discussions casting a light on the expectations, hopes and fears of Young Leaders for their respective countries and thus, the region are summarized in this book.

Available to be downloaded as pdf file.

Social Justice in East and Southeast Asia

This volume is a collection of the papers presented during the 11th international conference of the East and Southeast Asia Network for Better Local Governments (ESEA) held on 3 - 4 December 2003, in Manila, Philippines. Jointly organised by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Singapore and the Local Government Development Foundation (LOGODEF), the conference focused on Social Justice in East and Southeast Asia in the countries that participated in the conference, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Present Status and Future Development of Constitutional Jurisdiction in Asia

This publication is a collection of papers presented during the first ever Regional Seminary of Asian Constitutional Court Judges held in Jakarta, Indonesia from 8-9 September 2003. The contributors to this volume include Justices, Professors and Members of Constitutional Jursidiction bodies in Indonesia, Korea, Mongolia, Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines, all of whom provided an insight into the workings of Constitutional Jurisdication in each country. The appendices also provide further information on the jurisdiction, provisions and procedures of the Constitutional Courts of each of the participating Asian countries.