13 October 2020:  The annual Asia Pacific Think Tank Summit was organised and hosted virtually by the Think Tanks and Civil Society Program at the University of Pennsylvania with the theme ‘A World Disrupted and Transformed.’  Ms Lydia Ruddy, ERIA’s Director of Communications served on the Planning Committee for the event. 

Mr Adrian S. Cristobal, Jr, Chair of ERIA’s Governing Board, chaired the opening session.  During his remarks, Mr Cristobal highlighted ERIA’s ongoing research on COVID-19 and the recent event organised by ERIA that provided perspectives on the impact of the pandemic from four countries in ASEAN: Philippines, Viet Nam, Singapore, and Indonesia.

The summit focused on the strategic and operational challenges facing think tanks in Asia and the Pacific as a result of the pandemic. Think tanks must face the reality that there will be no new normal, only a series of extraordinary events that create a world where disruptions and the abnormal will be the norm.

The issues discussed at the Summit will be summarized and presented at the Global Think Tank Summit on 13 November 2020 which will also be held virtually.