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Southeast Asia Development Symposium

Between 2020 and 2023, ADB organized the Southeast Asia Development Symposium (SEADS) series to convene leaders from government, industry, academia, and the development sector to crystallize thinking on critical development issues and to introduce innovative ideas that can help countries make their economies more prosperous, knowledge-driven, and sustainable.

SEADS 2023 in Bali, Indonesia. Photo credit: ADB SEADS.

 

Year

Date

Theme

Format/Venue

202329 MarchImagining a Net-Zero ASEAN 
(Agenda, Highlights, Recordings)		Hybrid/Bali, Indonesia
202216 to 17 MarchSustainable Solutions for Southeast Asia’s Recovery 
(Agenda, Highlights, Recordings)		Virtual
202117 to 18 MarchInnovation through Collaboration: Planning for an Inclusive Post-COVID-19 Recovery 
(Agenda, Highlights, Recordings)		Virtual
202019 OctoberThe New Normal: Driving Economic Recovery through Digital Innovation 
(Agenda, Recordings)		Virtual

2023

ASEAN manufacturers and exporters need to go green if they want to tap capital from institutional investors. Photo credit. ADB.
Article
ASEAN Needs to Green Global Value Chains amid Climate Risks
This would entail significant policy change, grant of incentives, and reskilling or upskilling of the region's workforce.
Over the years, forest conversion and degradation have made the rainforests in Borneo a top priority for conservation. Photo credit: iStock/Rita Enes.
Article
Alam Sehat Lestari: Linking Conservation and Human Health to Preserve Borneo’s Rainforests
An Indonesian nonprofit provides affordable healthcare and alternative livelihoods in West Kalimantan to encourage local communities to protect and preserve climate-critical forests.
Southeast Asia's current capacity for solar PVs accounts for 9%–10% of global cell and module production, with bulk of the supply coming from Malaysia, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Photo credit: ADB.
News
Southeast Asia Urged to Seize $200 Billion in Opportunities in Solar PVs, Electric Two-Wheelers, and Batteries
To unlock these opportunities, however, the region needs joint action from multiple stakeholders to provide regulations, standards, manufacturing sector reforms, and other initiatives.
To ensure that no one is left behind, governments and employers must be mindful of existing inequalities, expand the green labor pool, and equip workers to fully contribute to the change. Photo credit: ADB.
Article
ASEAN's Just Transition Entails Reskilling a Diversified Workforce
Making the labor force more diverse, inclusive, and capable of taking on green jobs is crucial for Southeast Asian nations to reach their net-zero goals by 2050.
Investments going into the fossil fuel and renewable energy sectors are currently on par. To meet net-zero targets, $4 will need to be invested into the green economy, for every $1 of existing investment into the fossil fuel industry. Photo credit: ADB.
Article
Financing Net Zero Is Not Just about Money. Innovative Solutions, Incentives, and Policies also Needed
Southeast Asia needs to mobilize private capital fast as existing financing going into the renewable energy sector is not enough.
With travelers becoming more conscious of their environmental and social impacts, there is a market-driven shift toward more sustainable tourism, including nature- and culture-based travel. Photo credit: ADB.
Article
Reimagining a Greener Tourism as Travelers Demand Sustainability
Opportunities are emerging for net-zero tourism as travelers demand sustainable options and are willing to spend more to shrink their carbon footprint.
As climate impacts worsen, adopting clean energy solutions like wind energy has become more urgent. Photo credit: ADB.
Article
SEADS 2023: Climate Action Urgently Needed
Accelerating the adoption of solutions that can mitigate climate impacts and advance decarbonization now more urgent than ever, say experts.

2022

A fisherman tidies up his boat in Teluk Bahan, Penang. Fishing remains a major occupation for many residents of the Malaysian state. Photo credit: ADB.
Article
Tale of Two Islands: How West Java and Penang Stay Resilient amid Climate Change
Local government leaders deploy technology and tap green financing and other innovative approaches to bolster resilience.
By 2030, the region’s green economy will contribute $1 trillion in economic opportunities, and potentially contribute 6%–8% growth in GDP from new growth areas. Photo credit: ADB.
Article
Financing Climate Action: Three Priorities for Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia needs to rapidly mobilize private funds to meet the region's financial needs of $210 billion per year in adaptation and mitigation investments.
The well-being of women and girls should be at the heart of recovery programs. Photo credit: ADB.
News
Southeast Asia's Recovery Should Be People-Centered
With the pandemic amplifying the inequalities plaguing the region, it has become more urgent to adopt inclusive solutions to build back better.
Indonesia is moving away from mass tourism in favor of ecotourism and sports tourism and is bent on promoting nature and culture to tourists. Photo credit: iStock/kapulya.
News
Why Southeast Asia Needs to Embrace Sustainable Tourism
As the region starts reviving travel, there is a growing consensus the pandemic is an opportunity to fix structural issues that have plagued tourism over the years and rebuild it greener.
The pandemic has erased 9.3 million jobs and pushed 4.7 million people in Southeast Asia into extreme poverty. Photo credit: ADB.
News
Seize Opportunities to Rebuild Tourism and Reimagine Cities of the Future, Say Leaders at SEADS 2022
The pandemic is an opportunity to rebuild and reimagine tourism and cities so they are more sustainable, inclusive, and less susceptible to shocks.
Emerging COVID-19 variants is among the challenges Southeast Asia needs to sustain recovery. Photo credit: ADB.
News
Southeast Asia Recovery Hinged on Addressing Global Headwinds
While Southeast Asia is showing signs of recovery in the wake of the pandemic, economies need to counter headwinds including tighter interest rates, widespread unemployment, weak investment prospects, emerging variants, and higher inflation.
ASEAN has been trying to make tourism more sustainable noting that poorly planned and managed tourism has proven to have negative impacts on the host communities and their environment. Photo credit: iStock/last19.
Article
What Southeast Asian Countries Need to Do to Shift to Sustainable Tourism
While the pandemic has upended tourism in Southeast Asia, it also offers a unique opportunity for the industry to build back greener.

2021

In urban farms, growers increasingly rely on AI solutions to grow crops. Photo credit: iStock/sompong_tom.
Article
How Artificial Intelligence Can Help Build Smart Cities
With so many advances in AI, science fiction is now becoming science fact—and our cities are the better for it.
Bali's beach marred by garbage. Photo credit: iStock/Koldunov.
Article
Here's How a Young Change Maker Got Bali to Ban Single-Use Plastic Bags
Melati Wijsen’s offensive against plastic pollution is a lesson on how to make impactful change.
As of end-March, about 521 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccines have been administered worldwide. Photo credit: iStock/Toshe_O.
Article
​​​​​Southeast Asia in Race against Time—and Mutant Variants—to Deliver COVID-19 Vaccines
To turn the tide against the pandemic, all hands should be on deck.

2020

Since the pandemic, technology has become ubiquitous. Photo credit: ADB.
Article
How Tech Is Supercharging Southeast Asia’s COVID-19 Response
Technology now plays a bigger role on how the public and private sectors are collaborating.
Now that the education sector has gone online, Nadiem Anwar Makarim, Indonesia Minister of Education and Culture, is predicting a renaissance of educational technological tools to enhance teaching. Photo credit: ADB.
Article
Tech a Boon for COVID-19-Hit Southeast Asia, but Challenges Remain
One of the main challenges is bridging the digital divide in the region.