Human Resources Development Section

A sense of mission and responsibility for ESCAP in the new millennium
Dr Kim Hak-Su is the new Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), appointed to the post on 1 July 2000. Dr Kim, a prominent economist, served as the Ambassador for International Economic Affairs of the Republic of Korea before joining ESCAP. He has extensive experience in central banking, development planning, private sector management as well as international organizations. He has also served as the President of the Hanil Banking Institute and Secretary-General of the Colombo Plan Secretariat. Dr Kim shared with us his vision for and views on ESCAP on the occasion of his new appointment.

Youth in Malaysia
Saifuddin Abdullah is the President of the Malaysian Youth Council and author of the 1998 publication "Strengthening Youth Agenda: Implementation through Empowerment". He has recently been involved in a capacity building project with ESCAP designed to facilitate a regional sharing of experiences surrounding youth needs, youth policy and policy alternatives in the Asia-Pacific region. While in Bangkok he visited the ESCAP office and offered the following thoughts on the current human resources development situation of youth in Malaysia.

Promoting HRD in the region: the work of AusAID
Australia has long played an important role in development of the Asia-Pacific region. We spoke with Mr Michael Pilbrow, Counsellor, Technical and Economic Cooperation, at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok about the work of AusAID and its role in the future development of the region.

HIV/AIDS and Young People
Increasingly, youth in the Asia-Pacific region are at high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. We spoke with Dr. Wiwat Rojanapithayakorn, Team Leader, Asia-Pacific Intercountry Team, UNAIDS, about youth and HIV/AIDS in the region.

Promoting Gender Equality
The human resources development of women in terms of educational, health and employments status, lags behind men in all countries of the Asia-Pacific region. Here we spoke with Dr. Suteera Thomson, President of the Association for the Promotion of the Status of Women (APSW) and Advisor for the Gender and Development Research Institute (GDRI), APSW’s research arm, about the experience of GDRI in promoting gender equality in Thailand.

Economic Crisis and New Challenges for Thailand - Interview with Dr Ammar Siamwalla
Faced with high unemployment and a resurgency of poverty, the economic crisis has presented new challenges for Thailand in the areas of education and skills development. We spoke to Dr. Ammar Siamwalla, a renowned Thai scholar and former President of the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), the country's leading think tank.

Global Solutions for a Global Problem - Interview with Vitit Munthaborn, child rights campaigner
A professor of law in Thailand, Vitit Muntarbhorn is an international expert and leading advocate of child rights. He was the General Rapporteur for the Stockholm World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children. We spoke to him about what is being done to address the issue.

Education in a Region of Change - Interview with Victor Ordonez, regional director of UNESCO
There has been success in achieving basic education for all, says Victor Ordonez, UNESCO's regional director. The number of illiterates is declining, and more young people are going to schools than ever before. But many more challenges are laying ahead, and reform of the education system is one of them.

Reforming the Civil Service - Interview with Corazon de Leon, Philippine senior official
As public expectations of governments are increasing, governments in the ESCAP region are under increasing pressure to perform more effectively. What should be the role of government? Which activities could be best performed by government, and which activities could be best performed by civil society?