"The ASEAN Blogger Conference 2011 is expected to bring ASEAN closer to the community and to be a forum for brainstorming about the implementation of the ASEAN Charter towards the establishment of an ASEAN Community in 2015." Minister Tifatul said in his opening remarks.
The theme of the two-day conference is "The New ASEAN and Its Cooperation with Dialogue Partners", according to information from the official website of the 19th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits.
Being attended by around 200 representatives of the ten member countries of ASEAN, the conference is aimed at increasing public awareness and reaching out to the wider community for the establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015.
ASEAN Blogger Community (ABC) was initiated by the bloggers from various cities in Indonesia during a socialization of ASEAN that organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Indonesian bloggers want to see ASEAN not only as a forum for the elitists, diplomats and governments, but also as a forum of connection and communication between the peoples in the region.
ABC Indonesia Chapter was inaugurated by the foreign ministry`s Director-General of ASEAN Cooperation Djauhari Oratmangun on May 10, 2011, and on the next day, the representatives of the bloggers community signed a Declaration.
According to ABC President Iman Brotoseno, ASEAN`s first Blogger Conference is to discuss the development of online social media utilization in the ASEAN member countries and the steps that would be taken by ASEAN bloggers in supporting the ASEAN Community by 2015.(*)
HAJM/F001/A014
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
