KASYP Alumni Meeting 2015

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Alumni members from the Konrad Adenauer School for Young Politicians (KASYP) met from 29th to 31st October in Davao City, Philippines to discuss and exchange political experiences in governance. Meant to be an annual platform for politically active politicians and political thinkers to come together, the KASYP Alumni Meeting this year was no different in introducing the hot button issues of the year aimed at promoting alternative thinking and knowledge capacity building for the members. Dr Wilhelm Hofmeister provided a crucial overlay discussion on political thought in regards to changing democracy trends in the region and globally, rehashing the norms discussion underlining the requirements for democratic development and consolidation. This followed with a robust discussion among speakers and alumni members alike. Prof Edmund Tayao of University of Philippines discoursed the arguments for federalism and institutional reforms in light of on-going discussions in Myanmar and the Philippines for example. Dr Fauziah Zen of Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) and a faculty member of Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia discussed tax and equitable social security system approaches for inclusive growth in the ASEAN region. She also included regional and global developments in regards to the Global Agenda on Sustainable Development Goals and building of the ASEAN Economic Community 2015. The following day began with hard-hitting discussions on political dynasties and implications for inclusive politics by Dr Ron Mendoza, Executive Director of the AIM Policy Center in Manila. Alumni members from other countries got to understand the intricacies of the Filipino system of patronage and political legacies as well as money politics. This was continued with speeches from Mayor Duterte of Davao City and Mayor Edna of Cordilleras region, who both shared regional perspectives on politics, security and development projects in what are two unique regions in the political geography of the Philippines. The second half of the day concluded with exposure trips to various institutions to learn best practices in disaster risk management at the 911 Emergency Center for example as well as discuss the de-radicalisation and peace-building efforts in ethnic minority communities of southern Philippines at the Al Qalam Institute of Ateneo de Davao University. Alumni members also got to interact and discuss with four German representatives from the Junge Union and Berlin House of Representatives on the last day of the programme. This was followed by updates on party programmes and political work from KASYP alumni members from India, Indonesia and the Philippines.