Fostering an Asean community through solidarity-based community enterprises

ASEAN in 2015 adopted the theme “Our People, Our Community, Our Vision” which reflects the overarching spirit of Malaysia’s Chairmanship, namely to create a truly people-oriented, people-centred ASEAN comprising all areas of political and security cooperation, economic growth and socio-cultural development.

In this context the Asian Solidarity Economy Council and the Global Movement of Moderates hosted a Pre Asean Summit Roundtable Discussion (RTD) on April 25, 2015 at the GMM Conference room in Kuala Lumpur

Around 60 people from various countries participated at this RTD representing government, civil society, community based enterprises, social entrepreneurs, academics and the private sector. Also participating were organisations like the ILO, UNDP (Malaysia), World Fair Trade Organisation (Asia), Pacific Asia Resource Centre Inter-peoples’ Cooperation (PARCIC), COMMACT International represented by the India chapter and ASLI Malaysia.

We had a fruitful discussion and this documentation arises as a fruit of this participatory process of sharing, deliberating and drawing out an agenda for the future of community based enterprises in the ASEAN region.

This document entitled “Fostering an ASEAN Community through Solidarity-Based Community Enterprises” is divided into three parts. Part one documents the Joint statement issued by ASEC & GMM on April 25, 2015, the executive summary of the findings, and the Seven Point Strategy for integrating community based enterprises in the ASEAN Economic Community.

Part Two is a comprehensive summary of the panel presentations and deliberations which serves as an essential resource material. And finally Part Three provides more details of the presentations especially the framework paper presented by Dr Ben Quinones.