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The Globalization Lecture Series (GLS), established in 2000, is an avenue of the Asian Institute of Management Policy Center to feature international experts to present globalization and issues surrounding it to local society’s stakeholders through live lecture or video-conferencing. It aims to bring together renowned international scholars, government officials, members of the media and civil society to develop strategies on how the Philippines can benefit most from Globalization.

Through the years, the GLS has tackled a wide range of topics such as globalization correlated with business, politics, international relations, and even socio-cultural realities. Thus, remembering these episodes and bringing them to an even wider audience around the country and region is the primary objective of the latest Policy Center and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) publication, Making Sense of the Flat World: The Globalization Lecture Series Compendium (Strategic Perspectives for Policy Development and Advocacy).

The digest, launched last May 18, 2007 at the AIM-WB Global Distance Learning Center, showcases 24 summaries of top lectures in the past, as well as features select Filipino opinionmakers’ insights on the benefits and challenges of globalization. Among the Series’ lecturers, notably, were Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas Friedman. The more recent lecture series featured ASEAN-European experts, namely Dr. Sebastian Bersick, Ambassador Rodolfo Severino and Ambassador Bernard Zepter.

In line with the Policy Center’s tradition, the publication was presented to the Dean of the Asian Institute of Management, Professor Victoria S. Licuanan, as well as to the honorary guest of the event, Dr. Stefan Friedrich, Head of Team Asia of the KAS Headquarters who was visiting from Germany.

Mr. Klaus Preschle, Country Representative of KAS, congratulated Dr. Federico Macaranas, Executive Director of the Policy Center, and his team for the continued success of the lecture series, most recently through the said publication. He also expressed his appreciation to GLS partners and donors throughout the years.

Dr. Federico Macaranas then acknowledged a number of contributors to the publication, the likes of Senator Leticia Ramos-Shahani; “Branding Philippines” champions, Ms. Jeannie Javelosa and Mr. Junie del Mundo of EON, The Stakeholder Relations Firm, and Professor Martin Perez and student, Julien Dio of the Philippine Science High School for the youth’s perspective on “the flat world”.