Executive Summary
This report analyses the external communication strategies of ASEAN and ASEAN Member States (AMS) intended to amplify ASEAN awareness and foster a shared regional identity. It explores the following areas:
- How digital and social media platforms engage young people in AMS, and how emerging technologies create immersive ASEAN-related experiences.
- How ASEAN-related information has been incorporated into individual AMS national education curricula.
- How AMS have leveraged their unique cultural assets to promote their national and ASEAN regional identities.
- How bottom-up, youth-led projects can foster ASEAN awareness.
This report assesses current approaches and highlights best practices through case studies. It then makes recommendations for the future communications strategies of ASEAN and its members. The recommendations include developing more inclusive narratives, leveraging cross-sector collaborations, and implementing robust evaluation frameworks.
ASEAN policymakers are encouraged to investigate ways to:
- balance national and regional identities in external messaging,
- address the linguistic diversity and cultural contexts of the member states,
- address uncomfortable truths and historical tensions that have hindered external communications, and
- introduce or improve monitoring and evaluation processes.
As ASEAN reaches its sixth decade, effective communication will be crucial for realising its vision of an integrated ASEAN Community with a strong regional identity.
