Wherever I am, the world comes after me.
It offers me its busyness. It does not believe that I do not want it.
Now I understand why the old poets of China went so far
and high into the mountains, then crept into the pale mist.
"The Old Poets of China" by Mary Oliver

Timor Leste: Strides Toward Nation-Building and Prospects for ASEAN Accession: A Public Conversation

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The Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman will be holding a public conversation, "Timor Leste: Strides Toward Nation-Building and Prospects for ASEAN Accession" with His Excellency Juvêncio de Jesus Martins, Ambassador of Timor Leste to the Philippines, on 29 October 2015, 10 a.m. to 12 noon, Seminar Room, Hall of Wisdom, GT-Toyota Asian Cultural Center, Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman. The conversation is free and open to the public. 

Much of the conversation revolves around the issue that as one of the youngest nations of the world, Timor-Leste’s ascent to nationhood had not been easy. Its young but vibrant democracy has been a subject of much interest in Asian and International Studies.

As it approaches its twentieth year of nationhood, there is a need to strengthen its ties with greater Asia and the world for both socio-economic and political reasons. Timor Leste has constantly expressed its interest in joining ASEAN and has earned an observer status to the regional bloc. Its relation with Australia is by far the strongest in the region but the direction seems to go West (ASEAN) than Southeast. And as ASEAN approaches its 50th year and as it sets out to implement the so-called ASEAN Economic Community this year, the viability for ASEAN Accession of Timor-Leste is again put into light.

Timor-Leste: Strides Towards Nation-Building and Prospects for ASEAN Accession is organized by the students of Asian Studies 212 (Community-Building and Regionalism in Asia), taught this semester by the Dean of the Asian Center, Dr. Joefe B. Santarita.  

The Asian Center offers M.A. degrees in Asian Studies with four fields of specialization: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. The Center also has an M.A. program in Philippine Studies that allows students to major in Philippine society and culture, Philippine foreign relations, or Philippine development studies. The Center offers a Ph.D. program in Philippine Studies in conjunction with the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. For an overview of these graduate programs, click here. The Asian Center also publishes Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, the latest issue of which can be downloaded at the journal's website. View recent and upcoming Lectures & Conferences and read other News & Announcements. Join our mailing list.