ASEF Day 2019: Celebrating 22 Years of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF)
Published on 15 Feb 2019
On 12 February 2019, the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) celebrated its 22nd anniversary with a reception at the ASEF premises in Singapore. The reception was attended by several ASEF Governors, various Ambassadors and High Commissioners, valued partners and friends of ASEF, as well as alumni and former staff.
In his welcome speech, ASEF Executive Director Ambassador Karsten WARNECKE emphasised that ASEF is about substance, both igniting and inspiring positive change in our 2 regions.
The reception was graced by Guest-of-Honour Ambassador Kojiro SHIOJIRI, who is also the Vice-Chair of ASEF’s Board of Governors 2019 and ASEF’s Governor from Japan. In addressing the audience, Ambassador Shiojiri reaffirmed ASEF’s role in providing a platform for people-to-people exchange between Asia and Europe. Our guests were also treated to a live performance by our very own James CHAN, playing a medley of songs from Asia and Europe on the Irish flute.
During the event, guests took part in an interactive activity in which a word cloud was created based on answers to the question “What connects Asia & Europe?” The most popular answers chosen were: ‘ASEF’, ‘people’ and ‘culture’ – a result that clearly captured the spirit of the evening.
For more impressions of the event, please view the photo album below or watch the ASEF Day 2019 video.