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he ASEAN Secretariat gathered dozens of organizations associated with the regional bloc, ranging from youth organizations, professionals, government and private institutions, as well as veterans’ communities, in a bid to build a sense of unity in the region.

Over 80 participants representing ASEAN bodies attended the second Forum of Entities Associated with ASEAN on Monday.

ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi said such entities should be considered as part of the ASEAN family. “Our engagement with entities, along with the centers, in itself showcases the people-oriented side of ASEAN,” he said in his opening speech.

There are currently 71 entities associated with ASEAN, as listed in Annex 2 of the ASEAN Charter. They are categorized into parliamentarians and judiciary, business organizations, think tanks and academic institutions, civil society organizations and other stakeholders.

A number of ASEAN centers, such as the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation, ASEAN Foundation and ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management also shared with the forum their stories of collaboration with various stakeholders.

Singaporean permanent representative to ASEAN Tan Hung Seng said the role of entities was very important to ASEAN.

“Like ASEAN, your respective organizations recognize that there is value to enhancing regional cooperation, to share experiences and best practices; harness group synergies and economies of scale; and to make a collective push for what you believe in,” he said in a pre-recorded video.

One of the participants, Angela Pok from the Passage to ASEAN (P2A), said one possible way to build the ASEAN Community was through increasing mobility of students within the region.

P2A is a non-profit network that provides access for university students in ASEAN to experience living in other ASEAN countries through its network of 80 colleges.

She told The Jakarta Post that through the program, students could build mutual understanding and acceptance of the differences among ASEAN people.

ASEAN community building is not only in the hands of the youth.

Abdul Ghani from the Indonesian Legion of Veterans said all ASEAN veterans were part of the Veterans Confederation of ASEAN Countries (VECONAC), which was established in 1980.

He said VECONAC, which is currently chaired by Laos, met regularly over the year, “in June, we held an executive board meeting in Luang Prabang, while in December we’ll have the 18th general assembly meeting in Vientiane.”

He said they usually discussed issues like veterans’ welfare in their respective countries. The issue was raised during a meeting between veterans from ASEAN member countries and Lim in August, he said.

He said ASEAN entities all aimed to unite ASEAN countries.

“A solid ASEAN will contribute to world peace, and that’s the point,” he said, “that way is better than only engaging with each other when there’s conflict,” he told the Post.