Intellectual Exchange
Overview
ASEF’s Intellectual Exchange aims to provide and communicate quality, actionable inputs for the policy dialogue between Asia and Europe.
Our Goals
- To regularly monitor and analyse developments in Asia-Europe relations in order to identify relevant policy issues where ASEF provides an added value;
- To design and implement programmes responsive to the identified needs of Asia-Europe relations;
- To transform the outcomes of programmes into inputs actionable for Asia-Europe policy dialogue;
- To deliver and implement a communication strategy for the dissemination and advocacy of the outcomes of IE activities.
Our Work
In 2011 the focus areas of the Intellectual Exchange Department include:
Human Rights and Governance: We bring together government and civil society actors to dialogue and share good practice.
Our programmes:
- Informal ASEM Seminar on Human Rights: The largest government-civil society dialogue on human rights issues in Asia and Europe.
- Asia Europe Roundtable on Conflict Management: Promotes action-oriented discussion on conflict management and peace-building in Asia and Europe
Education and Academic Co-operation: We promote inter-regional partnership in Asian and European studies.
Our programmes:
- The EU through the Eyes of Asia: measures and analyses the perceptions of the EU in Asian countries
- Asia in the Eyes of Europe: A mirror study to the EU through the Eyes of Asia project. Explores the perceptions of Asia amongst European ASEM members
Environment and Sustainable Development: We discuss environmental and sustainable development issues relevant to Asia and Europe.
Our programme:
- Asia-Europe Environment Forum (ENVforum): The ENVForum’s Asia-Europe Strategies for the Earth Summit 2012 aims to produce an analysis of International Framework for Sustainable Development (IFSD) options for Rio+20
Economy and Society: We explore a range of social and economic issues with the aim of developing policy recommendations for enhanced inter-regional cooperation.
Our programme:
- The impact of the Crisis on regional Economic Integration: Discusses coping strategies, mechanisms and long-term solutions to the crisis and potential future crises in Asia and Europe.
ASEF Public Health Network: A multi-sector and multi-level platform between Asia and Europe for public health policy dialogue.
The Network activities are classified under three thematic areas:
- Regional Integration and Infectious Diseases – The Network aims to create a platform for consistent exchange of knowledge and experience between Asia and Europe on regional integration and infectious diseases.
- Multi-sector Pandemic Preparedness and Response – Through the ASEF-ASAP (Accurate Scenarios Active Preparedness) scenario exercise, the Network aims to engage health and non-health sectors towards multi-sectoral pandemic preparedness and response.
- Public Health Dialogue – The Network aims to engage multiple actors to address the health issues that affect vulnerable groups such as young people, migrants as well as sexual and ethnic minorities.
Intellectual Exchange Team
- Mr Thierry SCHWARZDirector
- Mr Ronan LENIHANProject Manager
- Ms Grace FOOProject Manager
- Ms Sunkyoung LEEProject Manager
- Ms Grazyna PULAWSKAProject Executive
- Ms Ratna MATHAI LUKEProject Executive
- Mr Peter LUTZProject Executive
- Ms Sumiko HATAKEYAMAProject Officer
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Mr Thierry SCHWARZ
Director
Thierry Schwarz, is nominated by the French government to head the Intellectual Exchange department in 2012.
Prior to his secondment to ASEF, he was Adviser to the Council for Administrative Reform and Founder and Director of the Joint Master degree program of Public Management between the French National School of Public Administration (ENA) and the Royal University of Law and Economics in Phnom Penh.
He was founder and Dean of the Europe-Asia Undergraduate Program at the Paris Institute of Political Studies (l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques), France from 2007 to 2010. Between 2001 to 2007, Thierry was Regional Counsellor for Cooperation in South-East Asia with the French Embassy in Bangkok and Deputy Counsellor for Cooperation with the French Embassy in Beijing.
Thierry’s other prior experiences include CEO Asia-Pacific Region of the Waste Management Division, Suez Environment in Singapore, Executive Vice President, International Operations of the Waste Management Division, Suez Environment in Paris, CEO, Moulinex-Krups North America in New Jersey and Executive Vice President International Operations, Moulinex-Krups in Paris and Judge in the Paris Administrative Court from 1978 to 1980.
Thierry studied at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, California and the National School of Public Administration in Paris. He obtained his Master in Law with Paris II University.
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Mr Ronan LENIHAN
Project Manager
Ronan Lenihan is Project Manager and Acting Deputy Director for the Intellectual Exchange Department at ASEF. In this role, he runs the day-to-day management of the team, which co-ordinates event and research based projects aimed at improving Asia-Europe relations and connectivity. Ronan directly manages ASEFs joint project the “Asia-Europe Public Diplomacy Training Initiative" - a capacity building training initiative for Asian and European diplomats. He is also in charge of ASEFs involvement in the “Asia Europe Economic Forum"- a collaborative programme that brings together top economists and institutions to analyse the latest macro-economic challenges for Asia and Europe.
In addition, he has worked extensively on the ASEF led “perceptions” research projects, “EU through the Eyes of Asia” and its mirror project, “Asia in the Eyes of Europe”. Both studies use a unique methodology to track the media, public and opinion leader perceptions of the EU in Asia and vice versa. To date the studies have been carried out in in over twenty countries in Asia and Europe. Ronan has written and edited a number of articles and publications including the most recent Asia in the Eyes of Europe - Images of a Rising Giant released in June 2012 with Nomos.After graduating from Dublin City University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies in 2006, Ronan completed his Master’s degree in Globalisation and International Relations at the Centre for International Studies at Dublin City University in 2007. Prior to joining ASEF in 2008, Ronan worked in the finance sector with Rabobank International in Dublin.
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Ms Grace FOO
Project Manager
Grace Foo reports to and assists the Director of Intellectual Exchange in administrative and departmental matters. She also helps in preparing various departmental reports. Grace also works with other project officers on the Informal ASEM Semianr on Human Rights series and the Asia-Europe Environment Forum.
Grace joined ASEF’s Intellectual Exchange Department in 2007. Prior to this, she worked at GP Batteries International Limited, the Singapore Manufacturer’s Federation, and GE Global Controls Services.
She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma City.
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Ms Sunkyoung LEE
Project Manager
Sunkyoung Lee joined ASEF in April 2009 as Project Executive for the ASEF Public Health Network. The Network promotes public health dialogue in Asia and Europe through a multi-level and multi-sector approach. Her involvement in this programme centres on overseeing the management of the Network as well as facilitating the establishment of interactive and sustainable networks across regions, organisations and individuals to tackle public health issues.
Sunkyoung has worked in Korea and Europe (Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium), and prior to joining ASEF, she interned at the Information Society and Media Directorate General of the European Commission. She obtained her BA degree in English Language and Literature at Ajou University and her MA degree in European Public Affairs from Universiteit Maastricht.
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Ms Grazyna PULAWSKA
Project Executive
Grazyna Pulawska joined ASEF in February 2010. She is responsible for the Asia-Europe Environment Forum programme, which aims to strengthen co-operation between Asian and European stakeholders in the field of environmental and sustainable development.
Grazyna worked for the Ministry of Economy in Poland, working in the field of regional development. She has also been active in the NGO sector, mainly with the Service Civil International network in Belgium and the Development Wheel, a Bangladesh-based NGO specialising in supporting local entrepreneurship and fair trade.
She received her Master's degree in International Relations through a joint programme between the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris and the Warsaw School of Economics.
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Ms Ratna MATHAI LUKE
Project ExecutiveRatna Mathai-Luke joined ASEF in 2009, where she has been working on programmes related to ASEF’s thematic focus of Human Rights and Governance. In particular, she coordinates the Informal ASEM Seminar on Human Rights series and the Asia-Europe Roundtable series on Conflict Management.
She received her BA (Hons) degree in History from Delhi University (St. Stephen’s College) and her Master's degree in Forced Migration from the University of Oxford. With a background in research and policy analysis, she has published papers with UNICEF, Refugee Watch, and the Global Action on Aging.
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Mr Peter LUTZ
Project ExecutivePeter Lutz is a Dutch native. He joined ASEF in 2012 as a Project Executive for the ASEF Public Health Network.
He has over 10 years of experience, working in various positions for private companies and public organizations both in Japan and the Netherlands. Most recently he worked as a trainer and country expert for the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) and at the finance department of DOCOMO Netherlands. Prior to this, he worked as a project manager and was involved in the production of several documentaries for the NHK and Fuji TV, organizing intellectual exchanges between Japan and the Netherlands, and the coordination of Japan-related cultural and sports events. At JETRO his responsibilities included market research and advice. He also participated in the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme in Osaka.
He has a MA degree in Japanese studies from Leiden University, where he also participated in the Japan Business Program.
Additionally he completed a postgraduate course in international relations at Clingendael Institute. He has a broad interest in Asian countries and languages, aikido, photography, classical piano music and Dutch liquorice.
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Ms Sumiko HATAKEYAMA
Project Officer
Sumiko Hatakeyama joined ASEF in July 2012 as Project Officer for the Public Health Network. She is a Japanese national.
Previously, she worked for Peace Boat, a Japan-based international NGO in Special Consultative Status with the UN. As a Project Associate for “Global Voyage for a Nuclear-Free World – Peace Boat Hibakusha Project”, she visited over 20 countries with the atomic-bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She also ran presentations and workshops on nuclear disarmament within Japan, often in collaboration with other educational institutions, NGOs and youth groups.
She studied at the University of Cambridge, from where she received BA (Hons) in Politics, Psychology and Sociology (PPS). While at university, she participated in various internship programmes in both for- and non-profit sector, including the one at the UN Information Centre (UNIC).
