Curtin Sarawak student represents Malaysia at Model ASEM Le Havre 2016

Miri – 6 May 2016 – Arun Gunasagaran, a Bachelor of Commerce student of Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak), had the opportunity of a lifetime to represent Malaysia at the Model Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) 2016 in Le Havre, France recently.

The conference discussed the political, economic and socio-cultural aspects of the conference theme, ‘Migration, Entrepreneurship, and Employment’. This included illegal immigration and other migration dilemmas and Arun’s team at the conference proposed policies to accommodate immigrants and deal with brain drain.

The team’s proposals were well received by all delegates and will be delivered at the upcoming ASEM Summit in Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia this July.

Model ASEM is an annual 3-day conference and political simulation exercise of the actual ASEM Summit. It is primarily aimed at providing a platform for university students to engage in the ASEM process. It also facilitates capacity building for students to fine-tune their skills in consensus-building, diplomacy, negotiation, public speaking and teamwork.

Apart from Malaysia, the conference was also attended by delegates from other Asian and European countries.

“It was a great honour for me to be able to represent my country at the conference and I am thankful of the support I received from my university. It was a tremendous experience and I gained a lot of knowledge and experience from it,” said Arun.

“I also got to meet many amazing and talented people from different countries and of diverse backgrounds. Participation in such a prestigious international event can really help build your character and give you a whole new perspective of the world,” he added.

Being actively involved in student life at Curtin Sarawak, Arun was naturally attracted to a call for applications to participate in Model ASEM Le Havre 2016 on the Asia-Europe Foundation Education (ASEFEdu) Facebook page.

He is a committee member of a number of student clubs at Curtin Sarawak, including Director of Publicity and Student Ambassador of the CPA Australia Curtin Sarawak Student Charter, Public Relations Officer for the Curtin Finance and Investment Club, as well as a member of the Model United Nations Curtin Sarawak (MUNCS).

Arun was one of 63 delegates representing their respective ASEM member countries at the conference and his participation was partially sponsored by Curtin Sarawak’s Department of Marketing and Leadership and Entrepreneurship Centre (LEC).

Arun (second from left) with other delegates at Model ASEM Le Havre 2016.

Arun with a fellow delegate from The Philippines.