7th Annual Young Leaders Program (YLP) in Hainan, China

The Northeast Asia Economic Forum (NEAEF) received a Freeman Foundation Grant of $70,000 to conduct the 7th Annual Young Leaders Program (YLP) from August 24 to September 8, 2012. The 7th YLP was held at the Yingbin Peninsula Resort, Chengmai, Hainan Province, China, bringing together 22 young scholars and professionals from China, Japan, Mongolia, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the United States.

The program, which spanned 16 days totaling over 100 hours of program activities, was designed to facilitate active interaction among YLP Fellows across nationalities and academic/professional backgrounds. For many, it was their first involvement in a truly international academic environment. Apart from the substantive program activities, the participants had plenty of informal and valuable opportunities for socializing and networking.

Since the inauguration of the Young Leaders Program in 2006, its agenda, along with the underlying curriculum, has been evolving in response to the economic issues of the region as well as the constructive feedback from the participants and program coordinators. In addition, since its inception, YLP has been scheduled concurrently with the annual NEAEF meeting. This year’s forum meeting, co-sponsored by NEAEF and the Research Center for Financial Cooperation in Northeast Asia, took place on September 7 with a specific focus on regional functional cooperation and financing.
     
This year’s YLP agenda comprised eight main components: (1) Area Presentations, (2) Thematic Presentations, (3) Invited Presentations, (4) A panel of policymakers, (5) Individual Presentations, (6) YLP-related International Conferences, (7) Supportive roles in the Conferences, and (8) Study Tours. Dr. Shuqiang Zhang served as the YLP coordinator.  
          

The invited speakers, highly regarded in their own fields and their own countries and many of them having spoken to YLP Fellows in the past, were able to approach the topic at a level appropriate for the audience. Among them were a few YLP graduates, now in senior positions to serve as mentors.
 
The discussion by Prof. Xun Liao, President of the Hainan Institute of Public Administration deserves special mention. The 2012 YLP started in China amidst rising political tension between Japan and China over conflicting territorial claims over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands, an urgent issue that had immediate implications for regional stability. Prof. Liao asked the participants to learn from the lessons of past wars in the region and called on the younger generation to leave war mongering behind and work instead towards peace. His timely advice spoke to the relevance and importance of educational initiatives like the YLP in Northeast Asia.
   
The YLP Fellows appreciated the opportunity to interact with five policymakers from Northeast Asia, US and Europe on various topics covered in the program. The panel included:
    
Mr. George Ariyoshi, Former Governor of Hawai‘i, USA
Mr. Steve Cowper, Former Governor of Alaska, USA
Dr. Glyn Ford, Former Chairman, East Asia Policy Committee, European Union Parliament
Dr. Vladimir Kuznetsov, Former Governor of Primorsky Krai, Russian Federation
Mr. Kwan-Yong Park, Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Republic of Korea

The members of the policymaker panel shared their leadership philosophies or provided insight into development issues and environmental concerns. This encounter also served as a convenient bridge between YLP and the conferences, in which the policymakers played an important role.

Ten of the 22 YLP Fellows spoke to their peers for up to 30 minutes on a topic of their choice, which included the Fukushima nuclear disaster, China’s sand storms, free trade zones in Mongolia, 2012 Yeosu Expo, and the Aloha spirit of Hawai‘i. Within the YLP, NEAEF promotes free exchange of ideas from diverse academic and professional backgrounds as another level of person-to-person communication in support of regional development and cooperation.

   
One highlight of the 2012 program was the YLP Fellows’ participation in all sessions of the two YLP-related international conferences. The 2nd International Symposium on Population Aging and Longevity took place on September 5 and 6. The YLP Fellows listened to presentations on trends in population aging, regional longevity, and the status of China’s longevity villages. Through the symposium, YLP Fellows were introduced to the NEAEF involvement in population studies that has worldwide as well as regional significance.
   
The government of Chengmai hosted two study tours. The first one introduced YLP participants to coffee production, pottery making and volcano-themed tourism. The second tour, organized in conjunction with the aging symposium, allowed YLP Fellows to visit a longevity village, clinic, Senior citizens’ home and recreational center for the elderly. The people of Chengmai were obviously proud of their economic developments in the past two decades and eager to show their guests around.

In addition to the study tours, the Chengmai County Committee of the Chinese Communist Youth League sponsored a 2-hour program of team building activities and the county government organized an event for the YLP Fellows to meet local young people in the evening of the same day. Both YLP Fellows and local young people won enthusiastic applause in the cultural program that featured songs and dances from across the nations represented at the YLP.

As in the past years, the 2012 Young Leaders Program concluded with a graduation ceremony, which included congratulatory remarks by Dr. Lee-Jay Cho, Chairman of NEAEF, Former Governor George Ariyoshi of Hawai‘i, Former Governor Steve Cowper of Alaska and Dr. Richard Dubanoski, Dean and Professor Emeritus of the College of Social Sciences at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. The ceremony ended with the awarding of certificates to the proud YLP Fellows followed by a celebration lunch. The graduation ceremony symbolized another successful program year and another class of young leaders joining the pursuit for stability, peace and prosperity in the Northeast Asian region.

More photos can be found by clicking here.