NEAT MEMORANDUM No. 16
NETWORK OF EAST ASIAN THINK TANKS (NEAT)I.

INTRODUCTION

The Network of East Asia Think Tanks (NEAT) is track two of the ASEAN Plus Three(APT) that supports the goal of community building in East Asia. East Asian countries
seek to promote the welfare and well-being of its peoples by realizing the East Asian
Vision of Peace, Prosperity and Progress. To advance peace and prosperity in the region,
the East Asia community building process is to be based on universal values, including
good governance, the rule of law, democracy, human rights, international law and norms.
East Asian countries should promote these values as common goals.
NEAT Japan hosted the 30th NEAT Country Coordinators Meeting (CCM) on 10 May
2019 and 31st NEAT CCM and the 17th NEAT Annual Conference (AC) from 22 to 23
August 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. The theme of the 17th NEAT AC is “Sustainable
Development and the Environment.” Representatives from ASEAN Plus Three (APT)
countries participated in the meetings.
In 2019, NEAT organized two Working Group (WG) meetings on Networking CulturalInstitutions for Socio-Cultural Connectivity in East Asia by NEAT Korea and Towards
Building a Sustainable Society in East Asia by NEAT Japan. The detail appears in Annex
1,2. NEAT wishes to appreciate the respective NEAT member countries and participants
for their highly valued efforts and contributions.

II. RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the activities in 2019, NEAT respectfully submits recommendations in thefollowing two areas for consideration of the APT leaders:1. Networking Cultural Institutions for Socio-Cultural Connectivity in EastAsia;
In order to promote greater awareness and appreciation of East Asian traditions,heritage and cultures towards a common and shared identity. The recommendations are:a.

To suggest the APT governments to support the establishment of ASEAN
cultural institutions in the member countriesb.

To initiate a collaborative network for cultural institutions in East Asia
including the ASEAN Cultural Center, the ASEAN Culture House, Singapore
Heritage Society, and Myanmar Cultural Heritage Trust and other related
institutions at the national and regional levels.

c.

To suggest that ASEAN Cultural Center and the ASEAN Culture House tocoordinate the process of developing the network.

2. Towards Building a Sustainable Society in East Asia;
In East Asia, various emerging problems caused by severe environmental issues arehindering the construction of a sustainable societies and the development that follows.
Therefore, it is necessary for East Asia to promptly address the environment issues,
such as combating the ocean plastic pollution, and building smart cities. The following
are key policy recommendations:a.

To create an information-sharing platform for smart cities and ocean
plastic wastes in ASEAN +3, and to share the examples of best practices topromote a sustainable society among member countries.

b.

To galvanize all the stakeholders such as public officers, entrepreneurs,industrialists, financers, civil society organizations, and local people toparticipate in planning and building a smart and sustainable society.

c.

To educate all generations to be aware of health and environmental impactsof plastic debris and to enhance environmentally-friendly practices in daily
life.

d.

To build "smart cities" by incorporating local culture and traditional wisdom
into the blueprint of a sustainable community.

e.

To promote additional interdisciplinary and scientific research to precisely
grasp current situations and future impacts of the marine debris.

IV. CONCLUSIONNEAT greatly appreciates serious consideration by the APT SOM, Ministers and Leadersof the recommendations in this Memorandum. We reiterate our continued support to build
a smarter and environmentally friendlier East Asian community.