Launch of the Study on Urbanisation, People’s Mobility, and Inclusive Development Across Urban-Rural Continuum in ASEAN

Urbanization has become a megatrend worldwide. In the ASEAN region, more than half of the population lives in urban centers. The projected growth of urbanisation will add a further 70 million
people by 2025, and 90 million by 2030. Urbanization has brought benefits as the engine of growth, but it has also come with some challenges. Thus, the Study on Urbanisation, People’s Mobility, and Inclusive Development Across Urban-Rural Continuum in ASEAN has been conducted by RDI in 2021-2022, involving the ASEAN Member States (AMS), international organizations (including UN agencies), and think-tanks/research institutes in the data collection process. The study aims to present comprehensive data and insights regarding the urbanization phenomenon in ASEAN and the recommendations that can be used further to improve overall people’s livelihood.

Marking up the main deliverables of the study, a launching event was conducted and hosted by the ASEAN Secretariat on Wednesday, 15 June 2022. This event aims to disseminate the study to key
stakeholders. It was attended by representatives of the ASEAN Sectoral Bodies, AMS, UN Agencies, and think tanks/research institutes. The event was opened by H.E Ekkaphab Panthavong, the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN, and followed by Mr Valentin Musangwa, Second Secretary of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Jakarta, and Dr Nenette Motus, Regional Director for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Regional Coordinator of UN Network on Migration for Asia and the Pacific.

Resilience Development Initiative RDI Indonesia The session then continued with the presentation of the Study by the RDI team. This session is moderated by Dr Chusana Han, Head of Poverty Eradication and Gender Division (PEGD) of the ASEAN Secretariat. Dr. Saut Sagala opened the presentation session followed by Dr. Fikri Zul Fahmi, Dr. Ayu Krishna Yuliawati, Dr. Indraswari, and Dr. Mizan Bustanul Fuadi Bisri, who conveyed the findings and analysis of the study and the recommendations to the attendees.

The next session is the responses and reflection by some ASEAN Sectoral Bodies, moderated by Mr. Miguel from PEGD. First, responses and reflections by Ms. Paterna M Ruiz, Chair of ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication (SOMRDPE); Dr. Chanthanom Manithip, Chair of ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Health Development (SOMHD); Dir. Ma. Karina Perida-Trayvilla from the ASEAN Senior Labour Officials Meeting (SLOM); and Dr Pham Quang Hung, Chair of ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Education (SOM-ED). In this session, the presenters shared their responses to the findings and recommendations of the study and explored areas that
policymakers and development partners could prioritize.

The last session was the panel discussion. This session’s presentation was conveyed by H.E. Ngy Chanphal, Chair of ASEAN Smart Cities Network; Dr. Phil. Vissia Ita Yulianto, Researcher from the Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies, Universitas Gadjah Mada; Mr. Riccardo Maroso, Project Team Leader for ASEAN Sustainable Urbanisation; and Ms Marlene D Ramirez, Secretary-General of Asian Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (AsiaDHRRA). The speakers in this session highlighted good practices and shared their views on ways forward to foster sustainable and inclusive development across the rural-urban continuum in ASEAN. It was such an insightful discussion and definitely was an enlightening session

Written by Annisa Indrarini