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ASEAN Sec. Gen. Surin: Free press, access to info contribute to the ASEAN vision November 18, 2008

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SEAPA Alert: ASEAN Sec. Gen. Surin: Free press, access to info contribute to the ASEAN vision

BANGKOK, Thailand (SEAPA) – Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), called on Southeast Asian journalists to promote the rights of the region’s people—including their rights to know and to be heard—and in so doing help build a more open, more progressive regional community.

Speaking during the 10th anniversary celebration of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) in Bangkok on Saturday, 8 November, Surin stressed the role journalists can play in supporting the ASEAN Charter.

“Go to the people of ASEAN, tell them of their rights under [its] Charter,” he said, adding that among these rights are access to information and free expression. “The right to know is fundamental to the ASEAN people.”

Surin was referring to the full ratification of the ASEAN Charter next month in Thailand. Even as three of the 10 member countries are still deliberating on their decision whether to vote for the Charter or not, he said the media can help bring out the truth about the Charter and persuade the majority to work together to enable its passage.

Stressing ASEAN’s potential to contribute to the political, economic and socio-cultural improvements in the region, he added that the media has a big role to play in ensuring that these objectives would be achieved. “Who can guarantee that except the journalists?”

According to Surin, he envisions ASEAN to be transparent and participatory in its interactions with the countries in the region. “This would not be possible without the help of the media,” he said. “Your skepticism makes open society possible.”

SEAPA is a coalition of press freedom advocacy groups from Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. Established in November 1998, it is the only regional network with the specific mandate of promoting and protecting press freedom throughout Southeast Asia. SEAPA is composed of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (Indonesia), the Jakarta-based Institute for the Study of the Free Flow of Information (ISAI), the Manila-based Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, and the Thai Journalists Association. SEAPA also has partners in Malaysia, Cambodia, and East Timor, and undertakes projects and programs for press freedom throughout the region.

***

Note: I’ve been working in SEAPA since July this year. On November 8, it celebrated its 10th anniversary. The fact that Sec. Gen. Surin Pitsuwan had also been present at the organization’s birth 10 years ago (he was foreign minister of Thailand at the time) somehow completes the circle. Coincidentally, the ASEAN was established here in Bangkok on August 8, 1967.

Ascending CN Tower November 17, 2008

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[Note: This is my third installment of photos taken from my trip to Toronto in late September and early October this year. Please scroll down for the previous two.]

CN Tower. It’s Toronto’s most prominent landmark. You’d always see it from almost any point in the city.  I won’t bore you with the stats, but if you’re interested in all the trivia (which I have to admit can be quite absorbing), then I suggest you check out wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CN_Tower

I was able to check in  at Holiday Inn on King at around 5pm. I was lucky to have been assigned a room facing towards the tower. As it happened, the fog was closing in. The tower looks like a brooding sentinel, standing watch over the red orange brick buildings of the city.

 

The following morning, around 7am, I was able to see a glimpse of the Skypod through the fog.

 

A day before my departure, Roby, Carlos, Item and I decided to climb the tower. Here’s a view of the Glass Floor. Getting dizzy already?

 

How about this one? I zoomed in my camera.

 

We paid for the all-in-one package so we were able to reach the Skypod. The view in the lower level was not good, for one thing, instead of glass, the viewing deck was covered with a wire screen, obscuring the view. In contrast, the Skypod was encased in glass, giving us a good view and sparing us from the chilly wind. Beyond the horizon is the United States (New York state?).

 

A Lego set? ;-)

 

Another view of lakeside and downtown.

 

…and the suburbs beyond the skyscrapers.

 

Another Lego set.

 

A view of the lakeside and the docks.

 

That says it all.

 

A worm’s eyeview. :)

  

The Tower as seen from one of the windows in the IFEX office in Richmond St. West.

Strolling along Queen St. West November 15, 2008

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I spent one week in the Queen St. West-Bathurst-Richmond St. West-King St. West area of Toronto in early October. After staying for a night at the Holiday Inn on King, I transferred to Travelodge, which is closer to the IFEX office. The picture above shows a section of Queen St. West as seen from the IFEX office. Those brick buildings, I learned, are at least a hundred years old. Don’t be deceived by what looks like a sunny day in Toronto. Outside, the temperature hovered at 10 degrees! 

 

 A view of Richmond St. West. The trees are starting to turn yellow and red.

 

 Aside from being dubbed as a “fashion district”, Queen St. West also has a row of restaurants and cafes. After walking for two blocks, I counted a Thai, an Italian, an Arab, and a Mexican restaurant, aside from the usual burger-and-fries diner.

 

 Corner of Queen St. West and Tecumseh streets. Notice the yellow 60s-era bus and the traffic lights that are definitely from the 20th century?

 

 I took this photo while looking for a place to eat on Queen St. West. Note the streetcar’s rail tracks. The building where IFEX has its offices is at the background.

 

 A streetcar at the corner of Bathurst and King St. West. I really like these trams. They may be slow, but they definitely beat the rush hour traffic. I wonder how Manila’s streets would have looked like if the “tranvia” was not phased out.

 

St. Mary’s Church on Bathurst St. Reminds me of San Sebastian Church in Manila. This one is not made of steel, though.

Autumn in Toronto November 15, 2008

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I went on a week-long training in Toronto from September 27 to October 4 with the International Freedom Exchange (IFEX). Autumn has just started and the weather was supposed to be nice, but I wasn’t prepared for the temperature that dipped as low as 8 degrees. I had two jackets (and the shirt and undershirt beneath them) but they weren’t enough. Good thing one of our colleagues in IFEX lent me a warmer coat.
 
I took long walks in the city. Toronto is supposed to be the biggest city in Canada, but I definitely did not feel boxed in. The city has this sense of being a large, open space. Having said this to one of the IFEX staff, she remarked that this sense of wide open space somehow makes Canadians treasure their personal space. I loved walking along Queen and King streets, with their line of turn-of the-century brick buildings housing restaurants offering foreign dishes and shops that sell a gamut of products, from theatrical props, to antiques, to designer clothes to CDs. The streetcars blend well with the neighborhood, with no jarring contradictions in the city’s modernity. And in the horizon the CN Tower looms, shrouded in fog in those days.
 
The city celebrates its multi-cultural identity. Among the IFEX staff are immigrants from Morocco, Greece, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago. In the streetcars and the malls I heard conversations not only in English and French, but also Italian, Spanish, Indian. During a stroll in Eaton Center, I came across fellow Filipinos. Canadians are so polite and considerate, they shun loudness and frankness, and are conscious of other peoples’ culture.
 
The maple trees were just starting to turn red by the time I left. My Canadian hosts regretted the fact that I’d miss the full colors of fall. I agree.

A view of downtown Toronto from my hotel room

A view of downtown Toronto from my hotel room

 

 

On my first morning in Toronto, I took a stroll. It was a cold morning. This ones taken at the corner of King Street East and Blue Jay Way Street

On my first morning in Toronto, I took a stroll. It was a cold morning. This one's taken at the corner of King Street East and Blue Jay Way Street

Later that day, Marianna from IFEX fetched me from the hotel to accompany me to the open-air bookfair called The Word On the Street. Here, we arrive at the subways Museum station. Note the pillar with an Egyptian. Other pillars featured famous statues, like those from the Aztecs.

Later that day, Marianna from IFEX fetched me from the hotel to accompany me to the open-air bookfair called "The Word On the Street". Here, we arrive at the subway's Museum station. Note the pillar with an Egyptian. Other pillars featured famous statues, like those from the Aztecs.

Marianna said we were lucky that the sun was out that day. Here, an amateur magician entertains the crowd. Whats funny was the way he would slowly do his routine, letting most of the audience see the not-so-sleight-hand tricks.

Marianna said we were lucky that the sun was out that day. Here, an amateur magician entertains the crowd. What's funny was the way he would slowly do his routine, letting most of the audience see the not-so-sleight-hand tricks.

 

 

 

CJFE also had a booth, manned by staff from IFEX. Theres Kristina, IFEX campaign manager, at the center, facing the camera. Marianna is the one on the right.

CJFE also had a booth, manned by staff from IFEX. There's Kristina, IFEX campaign manager, at the center, facing the camera. Marianna is the one on the right.

The bookfair was held in Queens Park which was adjacent to the Unviersity of Toronto campus. Imagine my surprise (a pleasant one) to see this. Marshall McLuhan! His ideas (the global village and the medium is the message) were some of the basic lessons we learned when I was taking up my bachelors degree.

The bookfair was held in Queen's Park which was adjacent to the Unviersity of Toronto campus. Imagine my surprise (a pleasant one) to see this. Marshall McLuhan! His ideas ("the global village" and "the medium is the message") were some of the basic lessons we learned when I was taking up my bachelor's degree.

 

Behind me is the Ontario Parliament building

Behind me is the Ontario Parliament building

 

Heres the facade of the Ontario Parliament building, a scene of numerous demonstrations recently, according to Mariana.

Here's the facade of the Ontario Parliament building, a scene of numerous demonstrations recently, according to Mariana.

 

A Canadian maple tree in full autumn colors. Most of the other trees in the park have not yet changed their colors.

A Canadian maple tree in full autumn colors. Most of the other trees in the park have not yet changed their colors.

 

An equestrian statue of British King Edward VII at Queens Park.

An equestrian statue of British King Edward VII at Queen's Park.

From the park, we walked along University Avenue then turned left at the corner with Bloor Street. We passed by the Ontario Museum.

From the park, we walked along University Avenue then turned left at the corner with Bloor Street. We passed by the Ontario Museum.

...The Royal Conservatory...

...The Royal Conservatory...

...and the Bata Shoe Museum.

...and the Bata Shoe Museum.

Two days later, I went to Eaton Center after office hours. I remember it was featured in the 80s movie Short Circuit.

Two days later, I went to Eaton Center after office hours. I remember it was featured in the 80s movie "Short Circuit".

In my next post, more walking tours and a climb up the CN Tower.