Despite bureaucratic obstacles and what some call the ASEAN Community’s slow progress, the idea of ASEAN as a single unit – a linked set of peoples and societies and a market – is slowly gaining ground in Vietnam. Read more in this report by Le Trieu for the Reporting ASEAN series.

What happens when young people from ASEAN countries become senior officials and ministers trying to negotiate contentious issues and reach a consensus, the ASEAN way? Read this feature by Jake Soriano on a Model ASEAN meeting held in Manila in September 2017.

“There are so many things to learn, to hear from the other organisations and CSOs,” Nguyen Thi Kim Que, vice director of the Centre for Sustainable Development Studies in Vietnam, said after taking part in the 2^nd S Rajaratnam Endowment (SRE) ASEAN Community Forum in Singapore in August 2017.

The ASEAN Economic Community is supposed to make it easier for ASEAN nationals to live and work in one another’s countries. But many Indonesians don’t know about the Mutual Recognition Arrangements designed to ease the movement of skilled labor  – or understand them correctly. The result? Fear and misperception, explains Ursula Florene of Rappler Indonesia in her article for the Reporting ASEAN programme.

The South China Sea disputes figured much less prominently in the just-finished ASEAN foreign ministers’ retreat in scenic Boracay – in stark contrast to the February 2017 retreat held in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. ASEAN appears to be bent on not letting the South China Sea issue overshadow the celebrations – and backpatting – around its 50th year anniversary this year, reports Charmaine Deogracias for the Reporting ASEAN series.

ASEAN – journalists and editors may love it, hate it or prefer to flee from it. But we in the media might as well know about to tell better and more relevant stories, so here at 9 tips from Reporting ASEAN editor Johanna Son for surviving – and perhaps even enjoying – reporting about ASEAN.

Was it a step forward or a flop? The December ‘retreat’ of ASEAN foreign ministers to discuss the situation in Rakhine state made it crystal clear that the matter is a regional ASEAN issue – and that by itself is a marked difference from ASEAN’s handling of touchy ‘internal’ issues in the past, says Johanna Son in this analysis.

How do ASEAN countries fare when it comes to legislating – and actually implementing – a more disabled-friendly environment? Tess Bacalla analyses how its countries fare in this feature for the Reporting ASEAN series.

On its 50^th year, has #ASEAN matured or is it in mid-life crisis? What are the milestones as it ends its first year as a community? How do citizens see ASEAN? What face of ASEAN do the media convey in their reporting? These are just some of the questions that will be discussed at the @ReportingASEAN media forum 2016, to be held on Dec. 2-4, 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand.

ASEAN and its members’ silence on the Philippines’ controversial anti-drug campaign is just one example of how the organization pushes economic openness over political and human rights concerns, writes Tess Bacalla in this feature for Reporting ASEAN.

Big things are happening in the #ASEAN neighbourhood! The Reporting ASEAN fellowship program is inviting mid-career journalists from ASEAN countries to submit fresh, in-depth, and ideas for stories investigating issues around ASEAN regionalism.

Pitch us a story idea we can’t resist, and we’ll support it. Deadline for applications: 31 October 2016.  For application details, read more.

Poor economic conditions at home and easy border crossings have meant that many Vietnamese are venturing to neighbouring countries like Laos and Malaysia for employment opportunities. Phuong Anh of Red Scarf magazine looks at the social cost of migration for work and the impact on the children of such migrants in this Reporting ASEAN story.

For Vietnamese students in Vientiane, summer is the long-awaited season for them to head home to connect with family, friends and their own culture. Phuong Anh of Red Scarf magazine finds out what various students are looking forward to doing back home in Vietnam during their holidays.

The Nguyen Du Vietnamese-Lao Bilingual School has the largest number of Vietnamese students in Vientiane. Making up a quarter of the school’s population, these students learn Vietnamese for six to eight hours every week and are also taught Vietnam’s history. Phuong Anh finds out more about the school.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate governance are taking root as a norm in Southeast Asia, Reporting ASEAN’s Johanna Son reports from discussions at a a July conference in Singapore. Companies increasingly have senior managers looking after sustainability, business schools are studying and doing research into corporate governance.

Courses and degrees in Southeast Asian studies have been around for a long time, but the emergence of the ASEAN Community has also led to the growing number of specialisation courses focusing on ASEAN in the region and beyond, reports Candida Ng in this Reporting ASEAN story for ASEAN Day.

The recent joint communique about the South China Sea dispute stopped short of mentioning the tribunal ruling invalidating China’s claims over most of the waterway. Tan Hui Yee of the Straits Times argues that while Asean has survived this test intact, its consensus-based system has muted its voice compared with the world powers weighing in loudly.

ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN Peoples’ Forum will be held in Timor-Leste this year instead of Laos, due to concerns over possible restrictions and limited freedom of expression. It is also a show of solidarity to reiterate civil society’s support for the inclusion of Timor-Leste as a full member of ASEAN. Read the full CSO Statement here.

In the aftermath of the Brexit, Southeast Asia watchers are asking the question: Could it also happen in ASEAN? No, says Termsak Chalermpalanupap, who makes a strong case against why the regional association will not have any such upheaval in this analysis in The Diplomat.

Britain’s vote to leave the European Union will not discourage the Association of Southeast Asian Nations from pushing ahead with its own economic integration project, the bloc’s former chief said on Friday. In an interview with the Nikkei Asian Review, former ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said the association can learn from the EU’s experience.