As many as 30,000 individuals are involved in the human networks developed thus far by The Nippon Foundation, the Tokyo Foundation, and SPF, but there has been no interaction or collaboration between these networks. To improve the situation, a Retreat Workshop was held September 3-10, 2006 at Peking University to address the theme "Building a Better Asia" and to help link existing networks and expand interpersonal exchange.
The retreat was attended by 16 young leaders in their 20s and 30s from various countries, particularly the ASEAN+3. They attended lectures on politics, economics, security, the media, and NGOs, where they shared their views on various issues facing Asia and the international community. On the last day of the retreat, the participants prepared a joint statement regarding the future of Asia. The statement can be found online at www.buildingabetterasia. com. The retreat provided a venue for dialogue to promote mutual exchange between the participants, and contributed to the development of relationships of trust and the reaffirmation of personal networks among people from various Asian countries.