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244Public Forum“Alternatives for Development: The Construction and De-construction ofAsia with the Trans-border Context”November 24, 2011Convention Room, Social Research Institute, Chiang Mai UniversityA Summary ReportEXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe first API public forum took place in 2008. Since then, the event has become an annual platform for APIfellows and others working on similar issues to share research findings and experiences. The forum invitesintellects from various backgrounds including students, academics, professionals, government officials,universities, INGOs, NGOs and civil society. It considers issues such as; since World War II, most Asian societieshave been influenced by dominant Western models of industrialization and development. How did theindustrialized nations of North America and Europe come to be seen as the appropriate models for post-WorldWar II societies, not only in Asia, but also in Africa and Latin America? How did the postwar discourse ondevelopment create the so-called Third World? What will happen if or when mainstream Western developmentideology and its discursive practices collapse? While some Asian nations have experienced sustained economicgrowth, others have been disappointed over unfavorable impacts on local people and environments. To explorethese questions, the API public forum events aim to enhance mutual learning in the search for developmentalternatives in Asian communities. The forum is intended to generate critical discussion on how developmentpolicies became mechanisms of control, reflecting power relations as pervasive and effective as their colonialcounterparts.The Fourth Public Forum was entitled “Alternatives for Development”: “The Construction and De-construction ofAsia with the Trans-border Context”. The panel of speakers included two API fellows and four other speakers whopresented their perspectives on the experiences of local peoples. Presentations by Ms. Pianporn Deetes and Mr.Niwat Roykeaw touched upon dam construction and civil society movements. Dr. Nguyen Van Chinh looked atthe rising Chinese interest in the Mekong region. Mr. Frankie Abreu presented independent research on theplanned mega-project by a Thai company in Dawei, Burma. Ms. Duen Wongsa shared her experience workingwith the Anti-Trafficking Coordination Unit Northern Thailand (TRAFCORD). Ms. Resmi Setia Milawatiinvestigated young Filipinos workers in call centers in Metro Manila, the Philippines. The forum concluded witha discussion of alternative visions for a post-development era of Asian communities in a trans-border context.INTRODUCTION AND WELCOME SPEECHProfessor Surichai Wun’Gaeo,Director, Center for Peace and Conflict Studies at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, ThailandThe forum began with a welcome speech by Prof. Surichai Wun’Gaeo, Director of the Center for Peace andConflict Studies at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. Prof. Surichai noted that the API FellowshipsProgram supports public intellectuals from the region who think beyond the nation-state and who take a regionalview when looking into the human and public face of development. Fellows look at human livelihoods, crossbordermatters, and global human concerns with a rights-based approach. Through their work, API would like tolink neighboring countries in the context of globalization and to look more critically at regional development.The Work of the 2010/2011 API Fellows