Dear Friends of ASEF As we bid farewell to the year 2013 and usher in the year 2014, I would like to take this auspicious occasion to send you our greetings and best wishes for the New Year. It is also a good time to cherish ASEF’s past accomplishments and share our plans with you. In 2013, the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) implemented more than 20 major projects with about 60 activities in the fields of culture, education, sustainable development, economy, governance and public health. Through every project ASEF carried forward the mandate given by the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and added value to this bi-regional process. Our projects are platforms for Asians and Europeans to interact with each other and to share experiences and knowledge in conferences, seminars, workshops and through web-portals. I would like to thank the ASEF Governors, our colleagues in the ASEM Governments and Member Organisations, our partner organisations, project participants, alumni, as well as supporters, friends and ASEF’s entire team, whose dedication and support are indispensable for our work. We strongly feel that 2014 will be a promising, yet challenging year. We will witness the 10th ASEM Summit in Milan, Italy and the 6th Culture Ministers’ Meeting in the Netherlands. ASEF will continue to play its role as the sole institution of the ASEM process and to contribute its share to the success of these meetings. To this end, we will organise the 7th ASEF Editors’ Roundtable, the 14th Informal ASEM Human Rights Seminar, the 6th ASEF Experts’ Meeting and Public Forum on Cultural Policies, the 4th ASEF Rectors’ Conference and Students’ Forum, and the 10th Asia-Europe Environment Forum Conference in 2014 – to name just a few flagship projects. We are looking forward to a successful year ahead for ASEF. We will keep in touch with you and welcome your continuous and active participation in our activities next year. With best wishes for 2014
Ambassador ZHANG Yan |
