The ASEAN 20/20 Vision Project brings together individuals from members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to engage by way of participatory photography and curatorial collaborations. This international research aims to explore creative ways of picturing the region of Southeast Asia (SEA) — through image-making and online collaborations. You can contribute to this international research project by contributing photographs or by expressing your opinions and exploring new ideas about ‘ASEAN-ness’ as a collective identity.

Who may participate in this project?

Individuals from any of the ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, or Viet Nam. Citizens, residents or those with cultural/familial ties in the ASEAN may participate. Some of the previous participants are from Canada, China, and the UK.

Why should anyone participate?

By participating in this project, you can contribute to shaping the way the ASEAN is represented and perceived in various contexts (from the local to the international) in your own little way. You should participate if you value cross-cultural exchanges and social engagement in Southeast Asia; this is an opportunity to collaborate with similar creative and curious individuals from the ASEAN. The project will be conducted mostly online and you are free to opt-in and opt-out anytime. Feel free to actively participate or join as an observer in any of the online meetings.

What is participatory photography?

Participatory photography is one of the two methods of this research project (the other is curatorial collaboration). You will participate in online conversations that will entail picture-taking and ‘show-and-tell’ workshops (i.e., photo-elicitation). From time to time, you will be given a set of questions and you will be given enough time on your own to take photos that you think will respond to the given questions. It is a versatile visual method because you can either express your artistic photographic skill or your journalistic eye to convey your ideas about the ASEAN community.

How can anyone enjoy this project?

Feel free to explore. The online, virtual workshops and guided conversations will encourage you to use photography in expressing your ideas; you do not need to be an expert or a professional photographer. You will only share images that you are comfortable presenting to the group or showing online. Feel free to take photos anytime, anywhere. Guidelines will be given for your reference as well as the research questions. The whole project may take a minimum of five online meetings (although a good number of the current participants have opted to meet regularly/bimonthly for eight months in 2020 until 2021 because they enjoyed the proceedings). Of course, you are free to opt-in/opt-out and set your own schedule.

Who already participated so far?

Many individuals have been involved in the participatory photography workshops leading to its most current edition. From the very first team of volunteers who became involved in the ‘Manila Pilot Project’ back in 2017 to the current international group of participants in 2020, the project has now over 30 individuals coming from or based in the ten countries of the ASEAN region. They are emerging leaders in their own respective fields, young professionals, postgraduate students, and creative practitioners; except for two or three individuals, all the previous and present participants are from the youth group of ages 20 to 35 (as defined by the ASEAN Youth Development Index) at the time of their direct involvement. For more information on the profiles of the most recent participants, as well as the various people behind the project, please refer to the acknowledgements.

Can I still participate in this project?

Short answer is YES, of course! Although most of the focus group discussions and participant meetings online have already concluded in late 2021, anyone can still contribute to the project in various, meaningful ways. Feel free to participate in the photo submission portals: Postcards from SEA (click here), Photo Voices: SEA / Elsewhere (click here), Anonymised Skies (click here), and CrossWorld Puzzle (click here). You may also view the online exhibitions: Made in ASEAN (click here) and TLS: Perspectives from Southeast Asia (click here). Alternatively, the Word Cloud (click here) is still open for anonymous submissions. You may also contact the research team if you need more information on how to participate.