Asia Foundation President Douglas Bereuter Speaks on Enhancing U.S.-Asia Relations
Public diplomacy aimed at fostering understanding of state policies has a tremendous impact on international relations, according to Mr. Douglas Bereuter, President of the Asia Foundation.
Mr. Bereuter discussed the key goals and programs being undertaken by the Asia Foundation, as well as the contemporary challenges confronting the organization, with a group of Fletcher students on November 16.
According to Mr. Bereuter, one of the major thrusts of the Asia Foundation is to enable developing Asian countries to play constructive roles in meeting regional and international challenges. Its programs serve to promote international dialog and greater understanding of US-Asian relations, and include scholarly exchanges and the professional training of foreign policy practitioners.
"This is the core policy of the Foundation, and is one of the reasons why it has been consistently supporting educational and internship programs for Asian and American students," he said.
Over the years the Asia Foundation has strengthened its relationship with The Fletcher School. As part of its efforts to strengthen the U.S.' bilateral relations with China, the Asia Foundation annually sponsors Ministry of Foreign Affairs Fellows in the one-year Master of Arts program at Fletcher. This year, the Chinese government sent Tian Yuzhen, who was a Consul at the Chinese Consulate in Toronto prior to coming to Fletcher. A number of Fletcher students have also been recipients of two fellowship programs being co-administered by the Foundation—the Luce Scholars Program, which sends 15 young Americans annually on internships throughout Asia, and the Slawson Fellowship Program, which supports summer internships relating to NGO management and development work. Two of the 2006 Slawson Fellows, both second year MALD students, attended the talk — Catherine Ross, who worked at Asia Foundation's office in Vietnam, and Brian Cathcart, who worked with a local NGO in Sri Lanka.
One of Asia Foundation's priorities, according to Mr. Bereuter, is the support of Muslim mass-based groups all over Asia.
"In Indonesia, for instance, we have been supporting support some 30 Muslim NGOs which are part of the Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) networks that have a combined membership of some 60 million people. The programs are geared at improving governance and fostering economic development at the grassroots level," he said.
Mr. Bereuter also stresses Asia Foundation's flexibility in adapting to the needs of the Asian security environment. The Asia Foundation funded and produced The Aceh Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Appraisal, a 16-month assessment that analyzed the recovery process and guided the revitalization of Aceh following the December 2004 tsunami,
"We are not a relief agency, but we received a considerable amount—about 7 to 8 million dollars—to conduct emergency relief operations in Aceh after it was hit by the tsunami in 2004. So we directed our efforts towards assisting in the reconstruction and recovery efforts in the region," he said.
Mr. Bereuter said that while the Foundation currently has no presence in Burma because of U.S. Congressional restrictions, it is looking at opening a 'Books for Asia' program in the country. The program has distributed more than 41 million books, software programs and other educational materials to more than 50,000 institutions in 40 countries since its inception in 1954. In North Korea, the program has been sending some 14,000 books annually.
Asia Foundation also seeks to enhance the institutional and human capacity of North Koreans, and has organized training and exchanges in various fields. This year, the Foundation also brought in a group of North Koreans to the U.S. to observe the role of NGOs in society.
Mr. Bereuter stressed the importance of establishing effective working partnerships with national governments.
"The Foundation may have different goals from among the different states that they operate in. What is important, though, is that we work in complete transparency and collaborate with local partner NGOs in implementing our programs," Bereuter said. He cited the example of China, where Asia Foundation has been pursuing governance and legal reform projects. China has indicated that it wants to address the problem of corruption and civil society empowerment.
Mr. Bereuter said that Asia Foundation has also consistently supported trilateral cooperation and the improvement of U.S.-Sino-Japanese relations.
"This is a crucial element of Asian peace and stability," he said.
According to Mr. Bereuter, although Asia Foundation receives regular funding support from the U.S. government, international development agencies, and private donations, it is not an endowed institution and has to raise its own funds. He maintained that the U.S. government restrictions on its budget allocation are quite minimal, which allows Asia Foundation to pursue an independent policy on its programs.
"The only areas where we have restrictions pertain to Burma, as well as contentious issues such as family planning and abortion. Other than these, we have had much leeway in determining our priorities," he said.
Sharon R. Rivera, MALD 2007