The years that were ASEAN, and Indonesian: Facing the odds towards regional integration and community building

The period between 2008 and 2010 was significant to Southeast Asia. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Charter came into force. The idea of one economic, political, and socio-cultural community for the 10 Member-States was ever more becoming a reality. During this period, I was able to witness this community-building process by being at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2008 and at the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity in 2009-2010. This collection of essays revisits the burning issues and memorable times in ASEAN and so in Indonesia in 2008-2010. They attempt to shed light on these issues and rekindle the times when nationalistic and regionalistic fervor was at the peak.