Perceptions are a means for better understanding. They provide a basis for improved communications for international engagement. With this in mind, ASEF, in partnership with the EU Centre in Singapore and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) will organise a public briefing to analyse the “Perceptions of the EU in Asia?” at the ASEF Conference Room in Singapore (6 June 2012).
The event will examine how the EU is perceived by the media, public and opinion leaders across Asia. The analysis will be based on the findings of the latest phase of the “EU through the Eyes of Asia”, which captured and analysed over 7,000 news items on the EU in 40 media outlets. It also interviewed over 300 opinion leaders from business, media, politics and civil society, and, surveyed over 10,000 public respondents in 10 countries.
The briefing will focus specifically on the findings from the Singapore research findings and will compare the outcomes to each of the other research locations, namely – Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Russia, and, Thailand.
In addition, the event will also feature insights on how Europeans perceive ‘Asia’, based on similar research from the “Asia in the Eyes of Europe” study. Speakers include Prof. Martin Holland, National Centre for Research on Europe (NCRE) – University of Canterbury, Dr. Sebastian Bersick, Fudan University, and, Ambassador Marc Ungeheuer, Head of the EU Delegation to Singapore.