Multicultural ASEAN: Diversity in Identity, Language, Memory and Media

On the occasion of the 36th anniversary of the Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia, or RILCA, in 2017, we have been able to launch the Multicultural ASEAN Center Project (MU-MAC). I would like to congratulate and thank the Multicultural ASEAN Center Project, editors and authors of this book for their contribution. As its name indicates, MU-MAC is engineered to expand RILCA’s research and academic networks in the field of ASEAN+6 and Taiwan among universities and research institutions in the region and in the global academic community.

In the past 36 years, our institute has been blessed with supportive and constructive collaborations with our domestic and international academic partners. Academic solidarity and professional commitment have lead us to where RILCA stands today as one of the leading research institutes in Thailand, with promising prospects for greater academic integration within ASEAN, and most significantly, with the establishment of the Multicultural ASEAN Center Project that represents the consolidation of academic convergence and endeavor in ASEAN members.

Our vision is inspired by the urgent need for policy development and institutional capacity-building in order to better accommodate emerging scenarios in transnational mobility within ASEAN, especially in the new era of super-diversity which is imminent. We strongly believe that through such project, we will be able to nurture and promote an inclusive, “Multicultural ASEAN for All.”

Associate Professor Dr. Kwanchit Sasiwongsaroj
Director
Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia