Suzannah Jessep's December 2024 Update
Ngā mihi o te Kirihimete ki a koutou! Here we are at the end of another year. It’s been a busy one, but tremendously fulfilling.
The highlight has been celebrating 30 years of the Asia New Zealand Foundation, paying tribute to all those who have served before us and looking ahead to the amazing array of Asia experiences and insights that are to come.
But it has also been personally fulfilling, having concluded my first year as the Foundation’s chief executive.
As anyone in leadership will know, it’s demanding but success comes from the power of collective effort and our ability to turn every idea and opportunity into a success story for New Zealand.
So, I would like to start by thanking my hard-working team for everything they have done this year. And to our stakeholders—thank you. It’s been a privilege to work with so many amazing people across New Zealand and the Asia region.
Left to right - Dr Peter Grace, Farib Sos and Suzannah Jessep at the office of the Prime Minister of Cambodia in Phnom Penh
Last week I returned from a visit to Cambodia and China, where I met a range of senior contacts to hear their assessments of how a second Trump presidency might impact their country and dynamics in wider Asia, and to meet with our young leaders, entrepreneurs, alumni, and Kiwi businesses operating in both countries.
On Trump, there were a lot of “ifs” and “maybes”, but there was certainly no sense of panic.
Across Asia we see this time and again. These are countries well used to managing change and who are constantly having to negotiate to protect and promote their interests.
Presenting to a major think tank conference in Beijing, I argued that we, too, take a pragmatic approach to international relations and highlighted how New Zealand – despite its comparatively small size – has often served as the architect of regional arrangements that have helped to join our economies and people.
The delegation heading for Track II talks in Beijing
While small and middle-sized countries might rightly worry about our increasingly unstable and complex region, we still have agency and there are opportunities to work together to find solutions to the challenges we face.
Turning to the Foundation, we have plenty of examples from 2024 of how we have worked across the Asia region to grow understanding and support efforts to collaborate. This year we have:
supported over 500 individuals with offshore opportunities in Asia to deepen their knowledge and broaden their perspectives.
placed 28 tertiary students in internships with 18 leading companies across Asia, offering young New Zealanders an invaluable cross-cultural and career development experience and helping to grow New Zealand’s Asia-savvy workforce.
provided opportunities for over 80 entrepreneurs from Southeast Asia and New Zealand to connect through our ASEAN Young Business Leaders Initiative and welcomed delegations of agribusiness and tourism entrepreneurs from Southeast Asia to New Zealand to share ideas and make industry connections.
facilitated 12 experts’ dialogues (‘Track II exchanges’) with leading think tanks across Asia, advancing thought leadership and promoting deeper regional cooperation.
published two major research reports, our annual Perceptions of Asia survey and New Waves: Meeting the growing hunger for Asian art in Aotearoa.
launched a new Asia in Focus webpage to showcase expert analysis on key issues affecting Asia and New Zealand.
led Leadership Network delegations to Vietnam, Indonesia and just this month to China, and welcomed 40 emerging leaders into the network, which now numbers over 500 members.
supported school and sports groups travelling to Asia to include cultural activities in their itineraries.
led groups of arts practitioners, curators and programmers to Vietnam, Japan and South Korea to learn about the local arts sector and expand their networks.
The impact of our work extends far beyond the individuals we directly support. Our grantees return from their experiences and become ambassadors for us—sharing with their friends and family insights about Asia as a fascinating and dynamic region and highlighting its importance to New Zealand’s future.
Other initiatives we’ve established in 2024 that will bear fruit in 2025 include:
The India Fund—a dedicated fund to strengthen New Zealand-India connections. In 2025, the fund will support a visit by top Indian agribusiness entrepreneurs and a young leaders dialogue to Delhi, to participate in India’s preeminent international relations conference.
A fellowship programme— supporting domestic and Asia experts to engage in research, in-depth analysis and present to New Zealand universities, councils, chambers, businesses and other platforms, all to help better understand the risks and opportunities Asia presents us.
A strategic partnership with nonprofit international development organisation The Asia Foundation. This partnership will see our organisations working together to convene roundtables and dialogues. It will also see the launch of a signature conference on Asia and contemporary issues in the region, to be held in New Zealand.
Wishing you all a fantastic summer break with friends and family, and I look forward to catching up with as many of you as possible in the new year.
Noho ora mai,
Suzannah Jessep
