The Times of India reports on the Asia 21 Summit

(11/30/2011)   The Times of India carried a report today on the 2011 Asia 21 Summit and the PSA award. Click here to download a copy of the article

For Immediate Release New Delhi to Host Asia Society’s 6^th Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit

The Asia Society Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit, the pre-eminent gathering of the most dynamic under-40 young leaders in the Asia-Pacific region, will be held in New Delhi for the first time this November 18-20, 2011.

The Summit assembles 150 of the most accomplished emerging leaders in the region today.  Delegates from almost 30 countries represent a wide range of sectors, including government, business, social enterprise, non-profit, media and the arts.  Over the course of three days, participants will explore critical issues and develop collaborative, regional solutions for addressing them.

The theme for the 2012 Summit is “Worlds Apart Together: Shared Values for an Asia-Pacific Community.”  Dialogues will explore such topics as the perceived future of inequality in the Asia Pacific region, the impact of social media, how Asia should deal with its demographic dilemma, and how to foster and promote Asia’s next generation women leaders.  A Public Service Project Fair will allow delegates to lend their respective expertise to new and existing programs in the region that most need their help.

Prominent alumni among the network’s roster include Eric Garcetti, President of the Los Angeles City Council (USA); Jungwook Hong, Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea; Lobsang Sangay; Rajiv Shah, USAID Administrator (USA); Sophiline Cheam Shapiro, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the Khmer Arts Academy (Cambodia); Sandiaga Uno, President and Director of PT Saratoga Investama Sedaya (Indonesia); and Dashdorj Zorigt, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy of Mongolia.

Notable Indian young leaders who will attend this year include Niret Alva, Co-Founder of Miditech; Barkha Dutt, Group Editor-English News, NDTV; Menaka Guruswamy, Advocate, Supreme Court of India; Binoy Job, Director, Prime Minister’s Office; Shaffi Mather, Advocate, Supreme Court of India; and Vani Tripathi, National Secretary, Bhartiya Janta Party.

The over 700-person regional network of Asia 21 leaders has national chapters in the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Vietnam, and elsewhere.  Collaborative projects have spanned continents and sectors, including a Science Caravan that reached 10,000 school children across the Philippines, a Mongolian project to promote green development in Mongolia,  lawyers in the US and India developing a course for young lawyers in South Asia on developments in constitutional law and practice, and many others.  A major Asia 21 Afghan leadership initiative was launched in Kabul earlier this year.

“The Asia 21 young leaders represent the future of the Asia-Pacific region.  The work that this incredible community of leaders is doing today and will do in the future is laying a strong foundation for regional collaboration for decades to come,” said Asia Society Executive Vice President Jamie Metzl.

The Asia 21 Summit is supported by founding international sponsor Bank of America Merrill Lynch.  “Bank of America is committed to making a positive impact on the social and cultural fabric of the society that we live and work in.  As such, we are particularly pleased that the Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit is being hosted in India this year,” said Kaku Nakhate, President and Country Head for India. “By partnering with global initiatives such as Asia 21, Bank of America can leverage its resources to encourage and support young leaders from across sectors, including social enterprise, non-profit, media, economic and arts, to enable a better and brighter future for business, politics, and civil society in Asia.”

Other sponsors for the New Delhi Summit include AirAsia X, the Delhi Tourism Development Corporation, Lotte, Development Channel and Leaders for Tomorrow.
For more information about Asia Society’s Asia 21 initiative, including details about previous conferences and Fellows, please visit www.AsiaSociety.org/Asia21

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About Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the marketing name for the global banking and global markets businesses of Bank of America and is among the world’s leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world.

In the Asia Pacific, Bank of America Merrill Lynch has a long history and has had an on-the-ground presence for over 60 years. Today, it is one of the region’s leading financial services firms with a full service platform encompassing Global Markets, Corporate and Investment Banking, Global Treasury Solutions, Research and Global Wealth Management across 12 countries, five time zones and more than a dozen languages.

Globally Bank of America is one of the world’s largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 58 million consumer and small business relationships with approximately 5,700 retail banking offices and approximately 17,750 ATMs and award-winning online banking with 30 million active users. Bank of America is among the world’s leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations in more than 40 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

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