Asean has been one the most important aspect on Indonesia’s priority on its foreign policy. Intra-regional trade has raised in recent years, signaling raising importance of economic integration among ASEAN members.

A full integration, an Economic Union is ASEAN dream. ASEAN has used Europan Union as the model of its integration though so far it has only managed to reach Free Trade Area and a decrease of trade barrier. But despite the process of slow integration due to differences among ASEAN members, the progress is significant, the reduction of trade barriers has been felt useful by economic components of ASEAN countries.

But ASEAN Secretariat at the moment, has been ignorant to involce the crucial component in future full integration: the people. The benefit of current integration process should not be targeted exclusively for economic purpose only, but also to introduce regional identity to each native people in ASEAN. Here, education will play important role in achieving this objective.

Let us put aside the concept of ASEAN’s common currency, exemplify the single Euro-currency, the economic gap among ASEAN’s members is just too wide that it might be not possible to achieve in a decade, but for now, there is a gap that all people in ASEAN could bridge: cultural integration.

In the education sector, the culture of ASEAN should be introduced to children during the primary class. Indonesia’s curriculum has been subject of long criticism for giving too much courses to children during their primary age. There should be consideration to reduce courses that are not really high priority such as religion and replace them with ASEAN multicultural studies. Here, children will be introduced with multicultural environment of ASEAN community.

With ASEAN’s culture being introduced during primary school, younger generation will have image of regional identity within themselves, which will play even more important roles to encourage full-integration of ASEAN community like its European counterpart whose people aware themselves of European, not only as French, German, or British.

True, compared to Europe, ASEAN lacks of similarity in its culture, ASEAN may not be able to achieve full regional identity integration like Europe, but that is what makes ASEAN unique. ASEAN community should not force themself being seen as single cultural entity like Europe, but seen themselves as multicultural regional community.

Cultural differences should not be seen as obstacle, but instead, it should be seen as challenge to develop unique concept of multicultural regional identity, where ASEAN people could call themselves as ASEAN, but could also call themselves Indonesians, Malaysian, Singaporean, etc.. Younger generation will be taught not to think themselves with sole identity, but as part of ASEAN, they will be taught to love ASEAN.

There should be consideration to insert ASEAN culture study as part of the curriculum to bridge people in ASEAN, a long-term project to introduce regional identity, emphasizing ASEAN as part of our identity.

Children are encouraged to learn various culture of 10 ASEAN countries (11, if Timor Leste to enter ASEAN membership). This will encourage younger generation to know the pluralism and uniqueness of ASEAN’s culture, not only their own. Children that respect and study other country’s culture most likely to tolerate toward pluralism in differences in community. This will contribute on building toleration and promoting culture of peace toward the children.

Education is realistic approach to introduce the concept of regional identity. For older generation that are still being alienated by concept of ASEAN, building culture centres will help to increase study of ASEAN’s heritage.
France and Germany have used this method for decades to increase interest to
study cultures of these countries. France has Centre Culture Francaise and
Germany has its famous Goethe-Institut spread through numerous countries in the
world. ASEAN’s culture centre should also be build, to facilitate all
ASEAN-related culture study, consisting of extensive library, and promoting
globalization of ASEAN’s multiculturalism. In this way, people will not only
know ASEAN as concept of regional organization and a mere free trade area.

If ASEAN-integration concept is only known to limited people such as academician,s diplomats, businessmen, and governments, but alien to most civillians, will there be an integration? Economically may be, but limited, and in some aspect, being exclusive to elites. Disputes happen because people in ASEAN
do not know each other, and it is a gap that could be settled, easier than
economic gap among ASEAN members. All we have to do is to start understanding our neighbours, and cope with them.

In that way, it is possible ASEAN future will not be decided only by the decision makers, but also all the people, especially the younger generations who aware of their regional identity as people that living in ASEAN.