Looking back at the 2nd Prague Conference on Southeast Asia: Regional Objectives, Global Contexts

The conference was organized with the support of the Embassy of Indonesia in Prague and Universitas Pembangunan Nasional ´Veteran´ Yogyakarta, with which Metropolitan University Prague signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The cooperation between the two universities has been underway since February 2010, when the first Indonesian student Tantra Pamungkas arrived to study at the MUP within the student exchange program.

Many international scholars and eminent personages from Indonesia, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic participated at the conference, e.g. H.E. Ambassador Retno L. P. Marsudi from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia or Dr. Alfred Gerstl, the scientific director of the Austrian Society for South-East Asian Studies.

The academic session of the conference was opened by the Head of the Department of Asian Studies Dr. Tomáš Petrů, who delivered his speech on the topic of "Southeast Asia: a strategic crossroads of the world?". The following program was divided into three panels: 1) Indonesia: a regional leader in global politics; 2) Half-forgotten conflicts in mainland Southeast Asia; 3) ASEAN: the objectives of Southeast Asian regionalism.

The objective of all the conference papers was to draw attention to the current political, economic and security issues, which the countries of Southeast Asia are dealing with. The contributions were followed by a lively and fruitful discussion, in which the listeners actively participated.

Students of MUP, FF UK and of other universities as well as a delegation of twenty-three representatives and students of the above-mentioned university Universitas Pembangunan Nasional ´Veteran´ Yogyakarta were present. Apart from those interested from the public, the representatives of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Industry and Trade, and Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports took were also present.

Marika Strašáková

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