CEBU (TOP) - Forum Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) founded by former Indonesian Ambassador to the United States of America (USA) and former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, Dino Patti Djalal and his team successfully launched a new strategic initiative focusing on deepening public dialogue and civil society engagement in Southeast Asia during the 48th ASEAN Summit in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu Province, Philippines.
"ASEAN for People's Week 2026" is a civil society platform to advance a more resilient and cohesive ASEAN community driven by the Government and the entire ASEAN people.
In the face of increasing geopolitical fragmentation and a rapidly changing global order, the FPCI has launched a new strategic initiative focused on deepening public dialogue and civil society engagement in Southeast Asia on May 5-8, 2026, in Cebu, Philippines, together with the 48th ASEAN Summit.
This civil society-driven initiative, building on the momentum of the 2025 ASEAN For The Peoples Conference (AFPC), was designed as an inclusive platform that brings ASEAN closer to the people involving officials, civil society leaders, business actors, youth representatives, media, academics, and regional partners. Its core objective was to bridge the gap between regional policies and public understanding while strengthening public trust in ASEAN.
Over four days, ASEAN For The Peoples Week 2026 featured a mix of strategic dialogues and public engagement formats, including:
- Capacity Building: ASEAN Journalist and Digital Storyteller Fellowship
- Policy Dialogue: Track 1.5 on ASEAN Community Building
- Public Engagement: (i) Film Screening and Talk Show on Peace-building and Conflict Resolution in Southeast Asia, (ii) Southeast Asia Lecture Hall, and (iii) ASEAN Community Town Hall
- Policy Outcomes: Recommendations generated from Track 1.5 Dialogue
Founder of the Forum Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI), Dino Patti Djalal said, about a decade ago, ASEAN came up with a huge idea, a very important doctrine, which is to come up with a people-centered community.
“This is what we're celebrating here. An ASEAN Community where the community is driven and shaped, not just by policies of government, but by the peoples of the region,” he said during the launch of the "ASEAN for People's Week 2026" at the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, Philippines.
The FPCI action to mobilize think-think from the Southeast Asian region is not an easy task, but it is very difficult and requires concentration to be successful.
With the successful of launch inaugural of "ASEAN for People's Week 2026, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Philippines, Maria Theresa "Tess" Parreño Lazaro, congratulated the Founder of FPCI and his teams who did an extraordinary job to make this important event run smoothly.
“I would like to extend my congratulations to a good friend Dr. Dino Patti Djalal and the rest of the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia for the conduct of the ASEAN for the Peoples Week here in Cebu, the Queen City of the South and the venue of the 48th ASEAN summit.”
The Philippine diplomat said, they were honored to have regional leaders in Cebu to discuss the issues that prevailed today and explore a collective solution that promotes a resilient, innovative, dynamic and people-centered spirit.
She added, the convening of this civil society-driven platform this week comes at an opportune time, as the Philippines is hosting the first ASEAN Summit under their chairmanship. And the Philippines is honored to welcome regional leaders to Cebu to discuss current issues and explore collective solutions that foster a resilient, innovative, dynamic, and people-centered ASEAN community.
“In the same spirit, I recognize the magnitude of the task before all of you participating in this activity today amid a backdrop of global challenges that profoundly affect our respective countries, our businesses, our communities, and our peoples,” she explained.
She concluded that, the Platforms such as the ASEAN For the Peoples Week are in line with one of their chairship priorities, people empowerment.
“We hope to foster social inclusion, and promote a sense of shared identity and community in ASEAN.”
Ambassador Nelson Santos, Senior Advisor to the Republic of Timor-Leste on International Relations stated that, if you look at the UN today is totally dysfunctional. Leaders in ASEAN, although facing many challenges,at least still call each other together to find solutions to the problems that occur in the region.
“Despite all the challenges, however, ASEAN leaders are still able to come to the table — at least they can sit together and discuss our problems. So for Timor-Leste, ASEAN now becomes central to our development.”
Lecture of the School of Public Health in the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Dr. Phyu Phyu Thin Zaw shared her perspectives on the public health situation in some ASEAN countries, particularly regarding the lack of adequate care for pregnant women, as she noted that many women die during childbirth.
She cited several contributing factors to this situation, including the poor condition of roads leading to health services, and the distance from where health services are located.
To respond to the problems that arise and happen in ASEAN member countries, Deputy Secretary-General of the ASEAN Political Security Community (2021-2024), Robert Matheus Michael Tene stated, each country has its own bilateral response, but as ASEAN must also think about the collective response. And this collective response becomes more complex compared to the unilateral or bilateral response of the respective countries.
“Therefore, if we want to build a collective response, we need to strengthen our unity and our capacity to seek consensus to identify areas where we all share a common position where we can elaborate our common response and of course, a common response from ASEAN is essential if we want to increase our leverage against pressures from major powers.”
Meanwhile, the First Woman Career Foreign Minister in ASEAN, Delia Domingo Albert's view of centrality entered the vocabulary when they began to have relations with dialogue partners in ASEAN.
She said, there are 10+11 dialogue partners, sectoral partners and development partners.
“But ASEAN wanted to be in what we call the driver’s seat — which means we set the agenda. That is what we really mean by ASEAN centrality. We are the central entity that shapes the agenda for relationships with the rest of the world.”
With more than 25 speakers from member states, ASEAN For The Peoples Week 2026 marks a significant step forward towards achieving a more inclusive, resilient and people-centred ASEAN.
