8th ASEAN Science and Technology (S&T) Week in Manila

The 8th ASEAN Science and Technology (S&T) Week is now being held in Manila from 1 to 11 July 2008. This year, the Philippines is hosting the ASEAN S&T Week with the theme "Making Science Work for You".

The ASEAN S&T Week is one of the major and continuing undertakings in ASEAN S&T cooperation. It aims to promote science and technology (S&T) development in the region by creating greater awareness of S&T, developing an S&T culture, as well as providing a medium for participation and collaboration in regional S&T programmes. The ASEAN S&T Week is held once every three years and the hosting is rotated among the ASEAN Member States.

In conjunction with the event, the 5th Informal ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on S&T (IAMMST-5) was held on 7 July 2008, where the Ministers responsible for S&T in the ASEAN Member States attended.

Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, who was at the meeting, addressed a few issues ranging from the ASEAN-led mechanism for assisting the victims of Cyclone Nargis, the ASEAN Charter, the next ASEAN chairmanship, and more active participation by the ASEAN Member States. He also spoke on how S&T can help address emerging issues such as food security, the integration of S&T with other sectors, as well as the utilisation of the ASEAN Science Fund for the scientific community in ASEAN.