Leadership Network members visiting Borobudur Temple near Yogyakarta, Indonesia, last month
Last month, the Foundation launched its latest Perceptions of Asia research report – now in its 27th year.
The research provides the data underpinning much of what the Foundation delivers. It tells us how New Zealanders are seeing the Asia region, the ways they’re connecting and learning about Asia, and the things that worry them.
It also shows us just how transformational in-person learning and experiences are.
I’m really pleased with the feedback we’ve had on the report and the coverage it’s received in the media and across boardrooms and workplaces.
We’ve also had positive feedback from Members of Parliament and Ministers who are working to grow New Zealand’s Asia relations and perhaps understand more than most just how important these relations are to New Zealand’s prosperity, security and development.
One of the stand-out findings for me was that New Zealanders are seeing Asia as increasingly important to their daily lives and to New Zealand’s future. And while they know the region is presenting this country with some challenges and tensions – in the South China Sea and around Taiwan for instance – it is also producing solutions that we need to tackle common challenges such as climate change and the move from fossil fuels to electric energy.
To celebrate the release of the report and share its findings with key stakeholders and friends of the Foundation, we hosted an Asia After Five event at our Wellington office the week its launch. This event provided an excellent opportunity to present the report's insights, get feedback and field questions.
For those of you in Christchurch and Auckland, we will be holding further Asia After Fives looking at the report’s findings in your cities later this month. It would be great to see you there.
Perceptions of Asia informs our work throughout the year, and in the coming weeks we will be repackaging the data to, for instance, highlight findings that illuminate New Zealanders' perceptions of specific countries.
You can also read an interesting article on the Foundation’s Asia Media Centre that compares Perceptions of Asia findings with a similar survey conducted by Australia’s Lowey Institute.
And a fun piece of reporting that draws on the survey will be published in the Spinoff next month, looking at how sushi won Aotearoa’s hearts, minds and stomachs. This is part of a series exploring at the rise of Asian cuisines in New Zealand, published by The Spinoff and sponsored by the Foundation.
New Zealanders recognising the growing importance of India and wider South Asia was one of the welcome findings from this year’s report.
However, as the word cloud below illustrates, it can still be a struggle to get New Zealanders to look beyond China when they think of Asia.
This is one of the challenges for the Foundation. Recently, the Foundation organised two significant activities aimed at highlighting countries that usually receive less attention in New Zealand.
Members of our Leadership Network participated in a Track II-style visit to Indonesia, while a group of senior New Zealand journalists travelled to the Philippines to participate in the East-West Centre’s international media conference.
The Leadership Network’s Indonesia visit took a delegation of 12 young leaders to Jakarta and Yogyakarta in late June for a week of knowledge and connection building.
The group met with a range of think tanks, policy institutes, civil society groups, and academics to learn about Indonesia’s approach to dealing with climate change and sustainable development issues - and the impacts on people, culture and economy from a foreign policy perspective.
Leadership Network members engaged in a round table with thinktank the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia
The delegation also met with many friends of the Foundation at a reception hosted by Ambassador Kevin Burnett, as well as a special call to our Indonesian Honorary Adviser Helianti Hilman.
Our Leadership Network and our NextGen Track II programme aim to develop the next generation of leaders who understand Asia and can lead this country’s relationships in the region.
Opportunities such as the Indonesia visit provide them with skills and insights and build their confidence to engage effectively in the region and in the field of international relations.
Also in late June, our Media Centre took a group of seven journalists and editors to the Philippines to attend this year’s East-West Centre international media conference in Manila.
The group joined journalists from across the region, global thought leaders, climate experts, policymakers, technologists and indigenous voices to learn valuable insights into the future of factual reporting, amid the growing impact of AI on information dissemination.
Delegates also participated in a two-day familiarisation programme in Manila, meeting some of the country’s movers and shakers and connecting with local media and government representatives.
The journalist outside the residence of the President of the Philippines in Manila
A lot of the impact the Foundation has is through supporting influential people to grow their understanding of Asia, so they can in turn share their learnings with a wider audience.
I know that the insights that these journalists gained of the Philippines will directly impact how they perceive not only the Philippines, but New Zealand’s relationship with the wider region, and this will be reflected in how they report on stories from the region.
While there’s been a lot more Foundation activity I could report on from the month that’s been, for the sake of brevity I’ll leave this here. Articles on all the activities mentioned here, as well as those I was unable to touch on, will be published on the Foundation website in coming weeks.
Nga mihi,
Suz Jessep