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Indonesia launches book on ASEAN for elementary, middle school students
Foreign Minister Retno pointed out there was still a big gap in the Indonesian public’s understanding of ASEAN, citing one survey that found respondents saying how the association was “elitist and disconnected from ordinary people”.
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An oil palm plantation worker transports oil palm fruits with a wheelbarrow in Rantau Bais village, Rokan Hilir regency, Riau, on March 8. ASEAN has been repeatedly criticized for being elitist and disconnected from the ordinary people of Southeast Asia. (Antara/Aswaddy Hamid)
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he government introduced on Wednesday study books on ASEAN for elementary and middle schools in hopes to increase the younger generations’ understanding of the association of 10 Southeast Asian nations.
Launched by Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi and Education, Culture, Research and Technology Minister Nadiem Makarim, the two books were intended to increase teachers’ knowledge of ASEAN and ensure that materials on the matter would enter the school syllabus.
“The books emphasize five main themes, namely knowing what ASEAN is; respecting identity and diversity; linking global issues and local issues, whose connections are getting stronger in the future; promoting equality and justice; and working together to create a sustainable future,” Nadiem said at the virtual book launch.
Made up of 10 nations with an assortment of cultural, political and economic realities and a wealth of traditions imbibed with influences from the Chinese, Indian and European traders of yonder, ASEAN has embarked on a mission to establish an elusive and singular ASEAN identity, at a time when a significant portion of the region’s people do not feel an affinity to the organization.
Various initiatives across numerous channels have been set up to bring ASEAN closer to its youth, all to varying degrees of success.
Read also: ASEAN seeks youth engagement to build regional identity
But for Indonesia, which is home to nearly two-fifths of Southeast Asia’s total population, this disconnect is even more pronounced.
Retno pointed out there was still a big gap in the Indonesian public’s understanding of ASEAN, citing a recent ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute survey that found that nearly 40 percent of respondents in ASEAN’s 10 countries consider the association as “elitist and disconnected from ordinary people.”
“In Indonesia, the figure is even above the average for ASEAN countries, which amounts to 49.6 percent of respondents. On the other hand, the same survey shows that a majority of respondents still consider ASEAN to be relevant,” she said.
These figures in turn, Retno went on, showed it was important to instill a proper understanding of ASEAN in Indonesia’s population at an early age.
“The younger generation should know more about ASEAN. The younger generation should be proud of the identity of the ASEAN Community [because it is they] who will determine the direction and design of the ASEAN region in the future,” she said.
For more than five decades, ASEAN has made many major contributions to the development of stability, peace and prosperity in Southeast Asia. However, the bloc has repeatedly been criticized for failing to prove its relevance to ordinary people, outside of its success to allow for the free movement of people across the region.
Read also: Promoting ASEAN identity in education
Endar Priyo Sulistiyo, a teacher at SMA 5 Palangkaraya state senior high school in Central Kalimantan, said the books that were launched on Wednesday contained learning materials that were suitable for both intracurricular and extracurricular school activities.
“As a history teacher, these educational books on ASEAN are the answer to the questions that arise from our contextual and contemporary sources [of information],” he said at the virtual launch ceremony.
The books, Endar added, could be used as a main source of learning materials on the subject, because they included technical information for use in a school’s syllabus.
In the future, Nadiem said, collaborations among ASEAN nations in the spirit of diversity would be a requirement for overcoming various new and emergent global challenges.
“If we cannot collaborate with our neighbors, it will be very difficult for us to be able to show up and be successful in the world,” he said.
