MFA Press Statement: ASEAN Day Reception, 5 August 2010

To celebrate ASEAN Day 2010 (which falls on 8 August), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be hosting a Reception on 5 August 2010. Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr George Yeo will be the Guest of Honour. The guests will comprise a cross section of business, academic and government representatives who work on ASEAN issues across the many sectors of regional cooperation.

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was formed in Bangkok, Thailand, on 8 August 1967. ASEAN Member states have celebrated ASEAN Day since 2007 with the common objective of promoting greater awareness and consciousness of ASEAN among our peoples, especially the youth. This is in support of ASEAN's community building efforts, in particular to build a regional sense of identity.

The celebrations for ASEAN Day this year feature an Essay Writing Competition for junior college students to express their views on why ASEAN matters to them in their everyday lives. It also includes the ASEAN Young Photographers Award which captures the sporting spirit of the peoples of ASEAN, coinciding with Singapore's hosting of the Youth Olympic Games this August. The winners of these two competitions will receive their prizes from Minister Yeo at the ASEAN Day Reception. Further details of the two competitions are at Annex.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
4 AUGUST 2010
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Annex

ASEAN Day Essay-Writing Competition

As part of this year's ASEAN Day celebrations, junior college students from across Singapore were invited to pen their thoughts on "Why ASEAN Matters to Me." The winners for the top three essays will be invited to the ASEAN Day Reception on 5 August 2010, where they will receive the prize from the Guest of Honour Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo. The top three winners are as follows:

First Prize: Ou Yong Wai Mun Michelle
Title: "Why ASEAN Matters to me"

Second Prize (Joint): Soon Tzu Hsiang
Title: "Rice"

Second Prize (Joint): Pham Thi Hong Hanh
Title: "A Fairytale"

ASEAN Young Photographers Award 2010

The ASEAN Young Photographers' Award 2010 was organised by the National Youth Achievement Award Council (NYAAC) with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the ASEAN Secretariat. As a build-up to the inaugural Youth Olympic Games to be held in Singapore, the theme of this year's award is "The Sporting Spirits of ASEAN". One winner has been selected from each ASEAN country. In addition to an all-expense paid trip to Singapore, the winners will be presented with their awards by Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr George Yeo at the ASEAN Day Reception on 5 August 2010. The winners are:

Brunei: Mr Mohamad Noriman Bin Mohamed Ali
Cambodia: Mr Chamraen Youri Maximov
Indonesia: Mr Faizal Rachman
Laos: Mr Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
Malaysia: Mr Osman Bin Adnan
Myanmar: Mr Kyaw Kyaw Winn
Philippines: Mr Alyson Lao Yap
Singapore: Mr Raymond Phang Lei Ming
Thailand: Mr Pongpakorn Rungsihirunrat
Vietnam: Mr Nguyen Trung Kien