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It was another special event for the country as one of the
most essential forums in Asia-Pacific had been held in the country. The Philippines had prepared for the weeklong global outing as it hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
summit during mid-November.
Based on the article from The Summit Express entitled "APEC
Summit 2015" (Sunday, November 22, 2015 Posted by Admin), the
recently concluded Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2015
summit in Manila with the theme "Building inclusive economies, building a
better world" was a success according to President Benigno Aquino III.
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The APEC, which was established in 1989, is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim member economies (not only member countries) that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Member countries include Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, United States, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, China, People's Republic of China, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Chile, Peru, Russian Federation and Vietnam.
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The highlight of the annual summit was the 23rd Economic
Leaders' Meeting (AELM) held at the Philippine International Convention Center
(PICC) in Pasay on November 18-19, 2015. Heads of government of all APEC members
including US President Barack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, and
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau and
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull were among the leaders who arrived in
the country.
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| A "katutubo" presentation from the summit. Photo by: APEC |
On this culminating event, the 30 APEC technical working
groups and committees (Senior Officials) endorsed action plans and
statements to Ministers and Leaders for adoption. The Economic Leaders’
Meeting Declaration outlines new commitments for APEC members to take forward
over the coming year to build inclusive economies, foster micro, small and
medium enterprises’ participation in regional and global markets, build
sustainable and resilient communities, invest in human capital development, and
enhance the regional economic integration agenda.
My Reaction: APEC summit to me had both positive and
negative sides. The forum discussed a lot of things like critical, regional and
global issues in the Asia-Pacific region such as technological innovation and
the challenges presented by the ever-changing global economic milieu. It is
also an opportunity for us to gain something from partnerships
with the member economies as discussed in the Leaders' Meeting. These "benefits" are quite helpful for the development of our country. For example, Mexico will help the Philippines in combating drug trafficking, South
Korea will support for the Philippine's military modernization, the
Philippine-Russia Joint Commission and more. I, myself consider this a
positive outcome not just for hosting the event or showing our well known
"filipino hospitality", it could be a result of our efforts to to
make this developing country of ours a better one. By making a huge progress by
competing and hardworking. Although there are bad sides like the traffic in
E.D.S.A and other roads in Manila, the cancellation of flights, the money spent by
hosting the event and etc. For me, it was worth the risk to give it all.
Although there are many complains from the people and they show it through rally,
social media and etc., let's just see the bright side of it and hoping good
things will come.
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| A rally during the Apec summit. Photo by Phil. Daily Inquirer |
The Sociological Paradigm: What I see in the event is that functionalism
was present during the summit. Structural functionalism, or simply functionalism,
is a framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose
parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. Functionalism is also
intended not only to discover workable solutions to problems, but also to
inquire the emphasis of the consensus and order that exist in society,
focusing on social stability and shared public values. During the APEC Summit, one
of its examples is the Strategy for Strengthening Quality
Growth, which will guide member countries in undertaking robust, comprehensive,
and ambitious structural reforms over the next five years. I based it on Mr. Émile
Durkheim theory, the father of sociology. His first theory in sociology named
"functionalist theory". one of its fundamentals is that
"institution fulfill basic human needs and all play a role in acheiving
equilibrium."
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| Another Infographic for APEC. Photo by Rappler. |
As a student, I could be a huge part of change that may
happen to the next administration of our country. It would be a privilege for
us. From hosting the event to the changes that we see, for me, could be
another start for something new.
REFERENCE
-Émile Durkheim( Updated last November 2015 @ wikipedia.com) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89mile_Durkheim
APEC Summit 2015 summary, review for reaction paper( 2015,
November 22 @ thesummitexpress.com) http://www.thesummitexpress.com/2015/11/apec-summit-2015-summary-review-for-reaction-paper.html
Asia Pacific Economic-Cooperation(Updated last November 2015
@ wikipedia.com) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia-Pacific_Economic_Cooperation
Photos belonged to The Philippine Daily Inquirer, APEC and Rappler
websites Via Google
Disclaimer : I do not own the rights of any pictures,
information and ideas about the topics discussed
