Public Affairs
Overview
Our Public Affairs department organises activities to help the general public understand what happens within ASEF and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) process. We also highlight key issues of interest to Asia and Europe.
Our Goal
Foster greater understanding on the work of ASEF and ASEM among the media and the general public.
Our Work
- Media Activities: We promote Asia-Europe networks and cooperation among mass media, and communicate initiatives by ASEF and ASEM. We also implement communication strategies for ASEF projects and events.
Our programmes:- Asia-Europe Editors’ Roundtable: Meetings between senior editors from Asia and Europe at the sidelines of ASEM Summits.
- Asia-Europe Journalists’ Seminar: A platform for senior journalists to exchange views and perspectives on issues of common interest.
- ASEF Journalists’ Colloquium: Meetings between young journalists to learn from each other's experience in reporting current issues.
- Management and Dissemination of Information: We make information on Asia-Europe relations easily accessible to the general public.
Our programme:- ASEM InfoBoard: the official website for the ASEM process also highlights issues on Asia-Europe relations.
- External Communications: We increase ASEF visibility by organising public events. We also manage the ASEF website, ASEF eNewsletter, ASEF Annual Report and other information and publicity materials.
Public Affairs Team
- Mr Paul KohDirector
- Mr Rafael SecadesAssistant Director
- Ms Debasmita DasguptaProject Executive
- Ms Theresa Ann CuaProject Officer
- Ms Kotryna StankuteProject Officer
- Ms Kalaivani KarunanethyCommunications Officer
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Mr Paul Koh
Director
Paul Koh is ASEF’s Director of Public Affairs.
Prior to his appointment, Paul was Director/Special Duties (Energy), during which he led an inter-agency team responsible for energy security issues. He was also a member of the Energy Policy Group.
Paul was previously the Director/International Economics at Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). Since joining MFA, Paul has served as either Deputy Chief of Mission or as Counsellor at our Diplomatic Missions in Moscow, London, and Manila.
Paul obtained a Law (Hons) degree from the National University of Singapore. While on a MFA scholarship from 1996-1997, Paul also attained a Masters degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in Washington D.C., where he was also awarded the Dean’s Citation, as well as a Citation for Special Contributions.
From 1998-1999, Paul served as Special Assistant to then Foreign Minister, Prof S Jayakumar.
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Mr Rafael Secades
Assistant Director
Rafael Secades Riestra, a Spanish national, joined ASEF in September 2010 as Project Manager, Public Affairs. He deputises for the ASEF Director of Public Affairs in the management of the department.
Prior to his appointment at ASEF, he worked in the private sector in Spain. His responsibilities as Commercial Director of INGENIAqed, a major industry player in Spain’s culture sector, included managing international projects such as the Future Pavillion, one of the largest pavillions at the Shanghai Expo 2010.
In Spain, Rafael's life was linked to the development of the Internet. He has witnessed first-hand, since 1994, the evolution of the Internet into what we know of it today. From 2001 to 2004, he was manager, Association of Friends of the Internet, where he was responsible for the launch and management of Cibercentro La Lila, one of the earliest Community Technology Center in Europe linking IT and culture. He also worked as technology consultant in Babylon, the first data sharing between the botanical gardens of Spain and Portugal, and Permeso, the production and distribution of eBooks of the Classics. He was a director, producer and presenter, spending four years in television and two years in radio broadcasting, covering the Internet and IT related topics.Rafael graduated with a Bachelor in Business Administration. He also holds a Masters degree in International Business (Chinese culture, language and negotiation) and a diploma as an expert in SME internationalization from the Escuela de Organizacion Industria (EOI). His passion for Asia was what made him join ASEF.
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Ms Debasmita Dasgupta
Project Executive
Ms Debasmita Dasgupta joined ASEF since October 2010 as the Project Executive for Public Affairs. She is a post-graduate in Development Communications.
Prior to her appointment, she was managing communication projects for various international non-profit organisations in India including the UN-FAO and Oxfam India.
Experienced in conceptualising and implementing multi-media initiatives for social development, she enjoys photography, creative writing and experimenting with her illustrations. Her latest graphic novel has been published by KATHA, one of the reputed publishers for children’s books in India.
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Ms Theresa Ann Cua
Project OfficerTheresa Ann Cua joined the ASEF in December 2009 as a Project Officer for the Public Affairs Department. She is currently the Administrator of the ASEM InfoBoard, the official information platform of the Asia-Europe Meeting.
Prior to her appointment at the ASEF, Theresa worked as a Programme Assistant at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Manila Office. She was in charge of communications, conference management, and handling the office's local government and Mindanao peace process portfolio.
Theresa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in European Studies, majoring in International Relations, from the Ateneo de Manila University. She also holds a minor degree in French studies.
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Ms Kotryna Stankute
Project Officer
Ms Kotryna Stankute joined ASEF on 8 March 2011 as Project Officer for Public Affairs.
She graduated in Culture management. Before joining ASEF, Kotryna worked as communications manager of international NGO Dream Foundation in Lithuania and international marketing manager at Limkokwing University of Creative Technologies in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Prior to her international positions, Kotryna was managing cultural and educational projects in Lithuania, including theatre and cinema festivals as well as independent artists.
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Ms Kalaivani Karunanethy
Communications Officer
Kalaivani Karunanethy develops and carries out strategies to raise the visibility of the Cultural Exchange department's programmes. She joined the ASEF in August 2010.
She has over five years of experience in engaging stakeholders through a variety of traditional and online media to achieve sales, fundraising, and publicity objectives. Previously, she worked in communications and fundraising for the National University of Singapore (NUS), where she helped engage private donors to support the University’s mission. During her tenure, she worked on NUS's Development Office website, turning it into an online giving platform.
Vani holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Mathematics from the NUS and was in the University Scholars Programme, an interdisciplinary academic programme based on the American honours college model. She loves classical literature, film, classical music, yoga, horseback riding, and rock climbing.
