IO – The 8th AASIC committee, daily management of the Indonesian Student Association in Thailand (Permitha), as well as representatives of the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok, held a session on Tuesday (5/26/2020). Considering the conditions and situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting was held online. The meeting was attended by 21 participants, from the Indonesian Embassy, Prof. Dr. Mustari Mustafa, M.Pd., as the Education and Culture Attaché of the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok along with three staff members: Muhammad Sofian Sori, Sari Suharyo, Adul Leesen.
There were two main items on the agenda at the meeting, namely, the introduction of the 8th AASIC committee and the presentation of planned activities. The committee consisted of 35 master and doctoral students from 3 universities in Thailand: namely Mahidol University, Kasetsart University, and Chulalongkorn University. To organize this event, the committee submitted a request for cooperation with Mahidol University as co-host.
In the coordination meeting, Prof. Mustari said that this year coincides with the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Thailand. It is hoped that the 8th AASIC theme will be in harmony with the commemoration theme: innovation and creativity. The special message delivered to the entire committee is to always maintain integrity and honesty at work. This is very important to maintain Indonesia’s reputation in the eyes of those involved in this activity.
The 8th AASIC activity was supported by the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok, specifically the Education and Culture Attaché. The conference is planned to be opened directly by the Indonesian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand. During the coordination meeting, Prof. Mustari has shown his willingness to become one of the keynote speakers and reviewers at the 8th AASIC this year.
Kevin Muliawan Soetanto, as Chairman of the Committee, said that the 8th AASIC conference also supported the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Thailand. The theme chosen was “ASIA Sustainable Innovation: Global Health Diplomacy, Technology and SDGs Accordance”. Within these major themes there are six sub-themes: 1) Public health, health science, and health technology, 2) Disaster mitigation and political decisions, 3) Economy, industry, and transportation, 4) Energy and environment, 5) Human development and behaviour, and 6) Food security and biosecurity. The theme was chosen to accommodate innovation and creativity in responding to current issues, especially in efforts to restore conditions after the COVID-19 pandemic and for the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Targets of the 8th AASIC participants are from the Asian continent, especially Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Japan, China, India, and Myanmar, and comes from researchers, professionals, practitioners, and students. Participants will be invited to present their research and experience based on their expertise to the audience. The targeted number of participants is at least 200 consisting of presenters and non-presenters. This conference not only offers opportunities to become oral presenters, but also in the form of posters. Submitted papers will be published in the conference abstract book, while papers that have successfully passed the review will be published in a registered proceeding book and have the opportunity to be published by indexed publishers. The committee is currently preparing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Director of the Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science to publish a Scopus-accredited journal.
The conference is arranged in two schemes – online or offline – considering COVID-19 conditions; it will then be decided in mid-September 2020. If online, the conference will be held in Bangkok (tentatively) with participants staying in their respective locations, December 4-5, 2020. Meanwhile, if carried out offline, it will take place December 3-5, 2020. The first two days will host a conference in Bangkok (tentative), while the last day will be filled with field trips to several historic sites and tourist attractions in Bangkok. The two schemes will also be presented with cultural performances such as dance, tourism, and diplomatic advertisements for Indonesian and Thai culture. (*/est)