CenPEG forges research exchange and partnership with Jinan University

CenPEG.org
January 7, 2015

The Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) recently forged a research cooperation and partnership with the Jinan University’s School of International Studies (SIS) to exchange studies on Philippine-China relations, Southeast Asia, regional security, and other issues.

Forged on Dec. 18, 2014, the cooperation agreement was signed by Dean Cao Yunhua of Jinan U’s School of International Studies and Prof. Bobby M. Tuazon on behalf of Dr. Temario C. Rivera, Board chair of CenPEG. At the signing were CenPEG Executive Director Evita L. Jimenez; Dai Fan, associate professor of the school’s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies; and other faculty members of the SIS. Jinan University is an international university located in Guangzhou City, southern China.

MOU-Jinan-University
Exchange of copies of research cooperation agreements between Cao Yunhua, Dean of Jinan University’s School of International Studies (3rd from left) and CenPEG’s Bobby Tuazon (2nd from right), flanked by school faculty members Tang Chong and Dai Fan with CenPEG executive director Evi Jimenez (extreme right). CenPEG photo

The cooperation agreement with Jinan University is the second partnership to be entered into by CenPEG. The first was the academic exchange and cooperation agreement with the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences (GASS) through its Institute of Southeast Asian Studies signed last Sept. 12, 2014. GASS is based in Nanning, the capital city of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, southern China.

CenPEG’s research exchange and cooperation agreements is aligned with the center’s international studies program which conducts policy research and analysis on Philippine foreign relations with the U.S., China, and other countries as well as on the maritime disputes in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea), ASEAN, evolving regional and global security, geopolitics, and other issues. The international studies program involves CenPEG’s Research Fellows, researchers, and other scholars from the academia.

The CenPEG program also organizes round table discussions (RTDs) and forums to present research papers and tackle issues. Last year’s series of RTDs marking CenPEG’s 10th founding anniversary invited resource persons, experts, and discussants. Among them were Chito Sta. Romana, a China analyst and observer, and president of the Philippine Association of Chinese Studies (PACS); Eric Baculinao, a Beijing-based journalist and bureau chief of the U.S. TV network NBC; and Prof. Michael Chossudovsky, professor emeritus of Ottawa University who talked on global politics. The RTDs and forums have been held in cooperation with the Office of the President, University of the Philippines; UP’s Asian Center; IBON Foundation’s Institute of Political Economy (IPE); Center of Integrative and Development Studies (CIDS), also of UP; and other schools and institutions.

CenPEG Fellows and policy researchers participate or are invited as resource speakers in other international exchange programs and studies including the International Conference on the Philippines held in Michigan State University, October 2012; the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS); human rights forum in Zimbabwe; anti-corruption international conferences in Athens and Bangkok; election observation in the U.S. (November 2012); think tank conferences in China and India; and other programs in Indonesia, India, Japan, the Netherlands; and other countries. Similarly last year, CenPEG’s director for policy studies was invited to a round of lecture forums in Beijing University and Tsinghua University. CenPEG Fellows have also conducted briefings on global issues for foreign delegates under the auspices of the Philippine- and ecumenical-based Peace for Life.

International research and conference partnerships had also been forged by CenPEG with the European Union, the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD), International Anti-Corruption Conference, Transparency International (TI), and other organizations. Recent exchanges were also conducted with Myanmar’s non-government election network, and Taiwan’s state election agency to share experiences on elections.

Visits and exchanges had also been held with Roland Rich, who now heads the UN Democracy Fund, as well as academics, legislators and other officials from Indonesia, South Korea, Australia, the U.S., Canada, and Japan along with foreign embassies based in the Philippines.

CenPEG also sits as a resource group in the Philippine Congress particularly both chambers’ committees on foreign relations. In 2014, CenPEG presented policy position papers on the continuing maritime rows between the Philippines and China and on the controversial Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the Philippines and the U.S. CenPEG News

Jinan-U-sprawling-campus
Jinan University in Guangzhou City (CenPEG photo)