Dr. Melba L. Manapol, Chairs of ASEAN Social Work Consortium
Valuable participants,
And Distinguished guests,
On behalf of Royal Thai Government as the Host Country of ATCSW, represented by Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, it gives me great pleasure to welcome all of you to this Social Protection course, today.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all the experts who honored to be a speaker in sharing their knowledge and experience on the core principles, best practices, and emerging trends in social protection through interactive sessions, lectures, and workshops during this training course which will deepen our understanding of various topics, gaining valuable insights and strategies for effective implementation.
This course also provides a unique opportunity to establish a network of participants, speakers, and professionals in the field of social work and social welfare in promoting cooperation, exchanging ideas, and creating a supportive community dedicated to social protection in the ASEAN region. ATCSW will bring comments from this training course to improve and develop the curriculum to be more efficient and more suitable for the ASEAN context.
I express my gratitude to all of you for joining this course. Let us maximize this opportunity to enhance our knowledge, skills, and networks. Through active participation, sharing experiences, and engaging in meaningful discussions, we can contribute to advancing social protection in our communities.
Once again, I avail myself on this opportunity to launch the “Social Protection” course and warmly welcome all of you.
Thank you.
Good morning.
At the outset, I would like to begin by greeting all SOMSWD Leaders and colleagues. It has been almost four years since our last face-to-face SOMSWD meeting in Vientiane, Lao PDR in 2019, and even though the situation has forced us to meet via video conference I think we can all reaffirm that our spirit is present and united, and our regional commitments remains unwavering.
Excellencies,
I would like to also extend my appreciation to the current Chair of SOMSWD, Malaysia, for providing me the opportunity to highlight our past
achievements and progress of the work of SOMSWD for the period 2021-2022 under the chairmanship of SOMSWD Thailand. The year 2021 was at the beginning phase of the Covid-19 pandemic. ASEAN was then facing with the multi-façade socio-economic issues. The effects have been widespread and disproportionately affected vulnerable segments of the population, including children, elderly, people with disabilities and their families. Our welfare system and social protection network had faced challenges like never before, hence the theme of the 17th SOMSWD Meeting was to “Strengthening Partnerships towards the Betterment of ASEAN”. The experience of the last two years has highlighted the importance of our partnership in providing the effective and inclusive network of healthcare, social welfare and social workers.
At this juncture, I would like to reiterate my sincere appreciation to SOMSWD Leaders, Focal Points, partners from NGO/CSO and private sector, from all ASEAN Member States and the ASEAN Secretariat for your cooperation and support in the 17th SOMSWD meeting .
Excellencies,
The collective achievements and progress made during 2021-2022 under the chairmanship of Thailand reflects our commitment to achieve SOMSWD objectives and aspirations for the people of ASEAN. This includes:
- Endorsement of SOMSWD Work Plan 2021-2025 by AMMSWD and notation by the ASEAN Leaders At the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits in 2022;
- Adoption of key outcome documents at the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits namely, the Declaration on the Elimination of Bullying of Children in ASEAN, Regional Plan of Action on Implementing the ASEAN Declaration on the Rights of Children in the Context of Migration, Regional Plan of Action for the Protection of Children from All Forms of Online Exploitation and Abuse in ASEAN, Regional Action Plan to Implement the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Ageing: Empowering Older Persons in ASEAN, Bandar Seri Begawan Declaration on the Importance of the Family for Community Development and Nation-Building, and the Roadmap to Implement the Ha Noi Declaration on Strengthening Social Work towards Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN Community.
- Notation of the Regional Guidance on Strengthening the Role of Social Workers and the Wider Social Service Workforce in Social Protection and the Regional Guidance on the Development and Use of Social Service Workforce in Population Ratios in ASEAN at the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits.
- The inaugural of the ASEAN Outstanding Social Welfare and Development Awards (AOSWADA) showcased the outstanding achievements of its 2021 awardees to improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable groups in their respective Member State.
- The Results-based Monitoring and Evaluation Framework of the ASEAN Enabling Masterplan 2025 was adopted by AMMSWD in 2021. Subsequently, the Stocktaking Exercise on the Relevant Initiatives on the ASEAN Enabling Masterplan 2025 was completed in July 2022.
- The successful convening of the 7th ASEAN Children’s Forum, held on 15-20 November 2022 in Jakarta and Manado, Indonesia and via video conference under the leadership of Indonesia is commendable. The Forum continued to serve as a platform to discuss issues that matter for the children of ASEAN, particularly in this era of digitalisation ensuring their voices are amplified and heard.
Moving forward, the SOMSWD leverages efforts to address the increasing vulnerabilities and exacerbated risks in the face of growing impact of mega trends to societies, including ageing, gender-based violence, digitalisation, climate change, among others, through effective social service delivery and impactful social protection measures that leave no one behind.
Excellencies,
I would like to use this opportunity to congratulate Malaysia and Myanmar as the Chair and Vice-Chair of the 18th SOMSWD, respectively for successfully hosting the 18th SOMSWD Meeting, and the 17th ASEAN GO-NGO Forum under the theme “Accelerating the Implementation of ASEAN Commitments for Gender Equality through Gender Mainstreaming and Social Inclusion”. Thailand looks forward to the success and advancement accomplished under Malaysia’s chairmanship.
Thank you.
Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
On behalf of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and the Royal Thai Government, it is my great pleasure and honoured to deliver my welcoming remarks at the 1st Inter-sectoral Consultation Workshop on the Development of the ASEAN Declaration on the Elimination of Child Labour today.
At the outset, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to ACWC, SLOM, U.S. Department of Labor, ALFA Project,
ILO, other relevant partners for your collaborative initiative to develop the mentioned ASEAN Declaration.
Today, this inter-sectoral workshop will be the important milestone and opportunity for all ASEAN Member States and relevant ASEAN Sectoral Bodies to exchange views and discuss regarding the child labor issues, which include challenges, good practices, and regional solutions. I do believe that this workshop will be a fruitful platform for participants to strengthen networking and cooperation among relevant sectors in ASEAN to eliminate the violence against children particularly in the labour sector.
In addition, this workshop will enable us to provide recommendations more comprehensively on the zero-draft declaration on the Elimination of Child Labour. This declaration aims to reaffirm ASEAN commitment to combat and eliminate child labour in all forms and sectors, which is expected to be adopted at the ASEAN Summit next year under the chairmanship of LAO PDR.
Excellencies,
We are honoured to have all participants here today both in-person and online. I would like to also underscore that Thailand remains engaged and dedicated to working closely with all of you, and wish you productive discussions and successful collaborations.
Thank you.