With the cooperation of politicians and other intellectuals in Japan, the ASEAN countries, the US, and Europe, this project aims to nurture future leaders in Southeast Asia by providing promising young leaders in the ASEAN countries where parliamentary democracies have been established with opportunities to study basic issues of cultural and social importance.
This year, a workshop program was developed with the following Asian politicians and intellectuals serving as lecturers: Anwar Ibrahim, former deputy prime minister of Malaysia, Surin Pitsuwan, former minister of foreign affairs in Thailand, and Pai Panandiker, then-President and Chief Executive of the Centre for Policy Research in India. Meanwhile, 24 participants were selected based on such criteria as their goals, background, age, and English capabilities.
At the workshop, which was held January 21-26, 2007 in Kuala Terengganu in northern Malaysia, a program was established that included lectures and discussions of the ideas and leadership qualities that future leaders must have. Participants also discussed The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich Hayek and Asian Renaissance by Anwar Ibrahim, both of which had been designated as useful reference materials.