JAKARTA, 25 June 2026 – The ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Research and Development Platform on Care Economy held a forum titled “Promoting Innovations and Best Practices for Future ASEAN Collaborations in the Care Economy”. The forum served as a platform for authors of an upcoming Flagship Report to highlight existing practices, innovations, and lessons learned across ASEAN Member States (AMS) in advancing the care economy.
The forum began with welcoming remarks from San Lwin, the Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community at the ASEAN Secretariat. His remarks underscored that ASEAN possess numerous best practices and innovations that can be amplified and replicated across and beyond the region, particularly given the strong communal spirit found throughout the area. Kathleen Bombell, Development Counsellor at the Australian Mission to ASEAN, affirmed that Australia will remain a reliable and committed partner for ASEAN in addressing challenges in the care economy.
Dr. Shofwan Al Banna Choiruzzad, Associate Fellow at The Habibie Center, then set the scene for the subsequent presentations. He shared that ASEAN’s holistic approach to the care economy has aptly recognised the disproportionate unpaid care responsibilities borne by women, pointing to the need for further acceleration and scaling up of innovations. He also took the audience through the process leading up to the Flagship Report, noting that the selected nine papers were chosen through a rigorous selection process from 217 abstract submissions received from across the AMS and other non-ASEAN countries.
Four authors participated as speakers, combining policy and academic perspectives to examine best practices in the care economy. The speakers also explored pathways to promote cross-sectoral cooperation to further operationalise ASEAN’s existing commitments in the care economy.
Nika Pranata, an independent researcher based in Indonesia, highlighted the significant opportunities presented by digitalisation in strengthening care delivery, accessibility, and equity across ASEAN. Noting that progress and developments achieved by AMS remain varied, he proposed a phased approach for ASEAN to further support digital transformation in the care economy to enhance regional interoperability of care systems.
Subsequently, Dr. Nuanchan Changchit—Lecturer in Law at the School of Law and Researcher at the Sustainability and Entrepreneurship Research Center, Mae Fah Luang University—presented her findings on possible pathways for ASEAN to adopt a care lens in its cooperation regarding multimodal transport, particularly to anticipate potential crises. Drawing from responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, she emphasised that cross-sectoral cooperation could be further promoted by utilising existing cooperation and frameworks in sectors where the delivery of care services and provision of care infrastructure would be crucial to respond to crises.
Tin Maung Htwe, Research Fellow at Chiang Mai University and Lecturer at the Myanmar Institute of Theology, argued for a specific ASEAN framework to jointly address the care deficit and promote enhanced protection for migrant care workers in ASEAN. Based on takeaways from his analysis of several bilateral migration corridors, he noted that an enhanced ASEAN-level cooperation would be beneficial to harmonise standards and expand protection for care workers.
Lastly, Josef Christofer Benedict (Research & Development, Harian Kompas), Kristoforus Lintang Mahadewa (Centre for Indigenous and Cultural Psychology, Universitas Gadjah Mada), and F. A. Nurdiyanto (PhD Candidate, Universitas Gadjah Mada) highlighted the importance of addressing the rising challenges of mental health issues by complementing institutionalised care support with community-centred initiatives. They drew lessons from “kader”, a community-based mental health support system, to identify the benefits of community-level interventions in enhancing early detection and promoting more inclusive interventions.
The forum demonstrated that ASEAN’s pre-existing cooperation across various sectors and the ASEAN Community’s spirit of collaboration present important opportunities to further promote inclusivity across care systems in the region. Nonetheless, it would still be paramount for ASEAN to address various challenges in order to ensure that the care economy could continue to be developed in a just manner for both recipients and caregivers, so that their needs and rights are fully acknowledged and protected.
This online forum was held under the ASCC Research and Development Platform (R&D) initiative of the ASEAN Secretariat, with the support from the Australia for ASEAN Futures Initiative (Aus4ASEAN Futures) and in collaboration with The Habibie Center.