6th ASEAN- Korea Frontier Forum Experience

“Sometimes the thing you fear most is the thing that would lead you to greater heights”.

It has been 5 years since the last time I ventured into the debate scene. It was for a University competition and I never thought that those experiences before would actually prepare me for a bigger arena today.

I was in the Philippines for a vacation when I was invited to serve as a vice-chairperson for the ASEAN-Korea Frontier Forum. It was one of those moments where I was thrilled but at the same dumbfounded since I never applied for the position; I only registered to be a participant. Apparently I was able to convince them during the phone interview that I would be an ideal candidate for the Vice-Chairperson. I was hesitant at first since I didn’t think I had the competencies to lead those participants. However, thinking this is definitely a great platform to inspire and be inspired by other people, I accepted the offer.

It was definitely a challenging task to unite 11 different points of views represented by the ASEAN member countries + Korea. I was assigned to co-chair the Socio-cultural Committee and it was both an honor and privilege to work with our dedicated, compassionate and driven delegates. What made our Committee unique is that only one of our members had any experience in any summit before. That meant we had to work from scratch. We had to teach them everything from the rules of procedure to drafting the Joint Statement in a week’s span. I can understand the frustration and confusion among them during the first committee meeting but their willingness to learn and be guided made it possible for us to successfully accomplish the mission of drafting a Joint Statement. The Joint Statement is like a blueprint of projects and programs encapsulating the consensus of the member countries. Its purpose is to promote the development of the three pillars of ASEAN- Political and Security, Socio-Cultural and Economic.

And of course, I would like to give special credit to my Chairperson whose excellent expertise and experience which he shared benefited not only the participants but most especially me being newly introduced to this task. His immense support and constant encouragement gave me the confidence to get my work done and lead the meetings.

As they say, work hard, play harder. The forum is not only about debates and meetings, they also provided opportunities for us to enjoy the scenic night view of Busan and explore its world-class skyscrapers. It was during these study visits and cultural tours that I got the opportunity to meet new friends from the delegates and of course bond with my fellow chairpersons. As faith would have it, my co-chairs were the most awesome and coolest bunch of people I know. It took us no time to get close to each other and find a common ground in laughing at each other’s jokes, discovering delicious food, late-night room partying and singing our hearts out at karaoke. It was so much fun working with them and I hope to meet them again soon.

Another source of pride for me in this forum was meeting some delegates from my home country. They put our county to another height when they won the grand prize during the performance for the Cultural Night, not to mention that two of them also won prizes as exemplary participants.  I couldn’t be happier seeing that Filipinos always stand out whatever task they are challenged into. Also, no matter which part of the world, Filipinos always share a special bond that is just unique in our culture. It doesn’t matter if it’s our first time meeting together, it felt that we’ve been friends for long since the concept of family and the value of friendship is a core value among us. We took care of each other like siblings. I hope you guys can come back to Korea again.

We owe the success of this forum to the Secretariat and staffs who worked hard to make sure that each participant would have wonderful memories when they go back to their respective countries. This is an experience that most of us would never forget. Their passionate commitment to bring out the best in each delegate and showcase the wonderful diversity that can fulfill the vision of One ASEAN is simply commendable. It is through their effort that this forum brought so much smiles, laughter and camaraderie among the members. Again, I would like to express my gratitude and heartfelt thanks for putting your trust in me and giving me the chance to serve.

I would end this entry with an excerpt of my closing remarks which I delivered during the forum.

“Delegates, as we close this forum, the chair panel would like to remind you again that you are the Future of ASEAN and Korea. Always prioritize common interest, pursue mutual understanding, and promote cooperation in the region. The ASEAN community is counting on you and expects that you will be able to deliver your responsibility in the continued development of a unified ASEAN”.