Public Policy Seminar 2022

YSEALI ACADEMY’S PUBLIC POLICY SEMINAR  

Regional Environment and Resilient Development 

March 14 – 25, 2022 

SEMINAR CURRICULUM  

I. TIMELINE AND VENUE

Timeline  

 - Application opening: December 13, 2021.  

 - Application deadline: January 17, 2022 

 - Result announcement: February 15, 2022. 

 - Seminar dates: March 14–25, 2022 (two weeks, ten working days, Monday - Friday). 

 

Venue 

 - Due to COVID complication and unpredictability, the seminar will be conducted wholly online (by the YSEALI Academy based in Fulbright University Vietnam located in Ho Chi Minh City) 

 

II. PARTICIPANTS

 - 35 YSEALI fellows who are young professionals between the ages of 25-40, highly qualified and motivated, from all 10 ASEAN member states and Timor-Leste.  

 - Participants are required to commit at least 36 hours for online seminar activities and approximately 12 additional hours for individual and group assignments over a period of 2 weeks. Therefore, participants are highly recommended to take two fully committed weeks to participate productively in and achieve the most from the seminar. 

  

III. OBJECTIVES AND LEARNING OUTCOME 

Objectives  

 - Expand YSEALI fellows’ knowledge and skills of topics related to environmental challenges and resilient development in Southeast Asia that can be applied in participants' careers 

 - Build a network with other Southeast Asian professionals for future collaboration in public affairs, including environment sector.  

 

Learning outcomes 

Upon graduation, fellows are expected to have a better picture of Southeast Asian environmental landscape, including challenges, emerging trends, and solutions for resilient development. Fellows would also understand and apply basic economic frameworks and policy tools to addressing environmental issues and resilient development. 

 

IV. THEME AND TOPICS  

1. Major theme Regional Environment and Resilient Development  

The seminar provides an overview of environmental challenges to Southeast Asia and how to cope with them by (and for) resilient development with economic and policymaking perspectives. It will focus on selected environmental issues facing Southeast Asia including environmental pollution, water security, climate change, oil and gas exploration, upstream hydropower impacts and carbon intensity in exports.  

 2. Seminar topics  

- Topic 1 – Introduction, macroeconomic frameworks, and policy tools for environmental management and resilient development 

This section introduces frameworks and policy tools to examine and analyze environmental issues in Southeast Asia. It will also address the approaches to cope with environmental challenges through resilient development. 

e.g., carbon intensity in exports, carbon tax, nature conservation and biodiversity, sustainable cities or agriculture.  

- Topic 2Environmental trends, issues, and resilient development  

This part provides an overview of Southeast Asian environmental landscape, including emerging trends, issues, and policies for resilient development  

 - Topic 3 – Air, soil, and water environment: from the Lower Mekong Region to the South China Sea 

This section deep dive into various environmental problems extending from the Lower Mekong Region to the South China Sea. It will analyze pertinent challenges to air, soil and water environment, including impacts of coal-power plants, waste management, upstream hydropower projects, water security, water governance, coastal environment, marine ecology   

- Topic 4Climate change in the 21st century: Past observation, future projection, and potential impacts  

This part focuses on climate change and related themes such as emission, global warming, sea level rise as well as their impacts on Southeast Asia, particularly the coastal cities and regions. It will also address Southeast Asian/ASEAN cooperation on environment and the COP 26 meeting. 

 

V. SEMINAR FORMAT AND STRUCTURE 

1. Seminar format  

As the seminar is conducted wholly online without field trips, it will be delivered in diverse formats to maximize the engagement of participants, including faculty lectures, guest talk/presentation, panel discussion, team projects (discussed below) and class discussion.  

Team project: fellows from at least three nations will work in a team and deliver a presentation on issues relevant to the seminar theme e.g., environment impacts of fossil fuel, water security, hydro power and livelihood, climate change, cross-border haze, biomass open burning, public reaction to controversial projects. Comparative and cross-nation analysis and views are appreciated in these team projects which are expected to add practical, diverse, bottom-up and updated examples and perspectives of Southeast Asia to the seminar.  

 2. Structure  

There are 22 sessions in total over two weeks (Monday – Friday), 2-3 sessions /day (morning, afternoon, or evening) 

Due to the time zone constraint (with international speakers), the seminar is mostly conducted in the afternoons and evenings. The 2-hour evening/morning sessions include a 90-minute lecture after a 30-minute national cultural activity; the 2-hour afternoon/morning sessions include guest talks, panel discussion, leadership workshop or participants’ teamwork. The seminar schedule is based on Hanoi/Bangkok time 

 - 10 sessions for lectures (scholars together with guest speakers, if any). Each lecture lasts for 90 minutes.  

 - 4 sessions for panel discussions/industry experts 

 - 7 sessions for leadership workshop, networking, teamwork, and team presentations.  

 - 1 welcoming session and 1 closing session, including class review (reflection, Q&A, comments) and graduation ceremony.  

 - Cultural activities: 30-minute national cultural show by fellows before each lecture.

 

 Seminar structure  

Week 1 

Day 1 

Monday 

Day 2

Tuesday  

Day 3

Wednesday 

Day 4 

Thursday 

Day 5  

Friday 

Saturday 

Morning  

9:00–10:30am 

 

Plenary Session 

  

  

Homework 1 

Homework  

Lecture 4 

Soft skill workshop  

Distinguished public lecture 

Afternoon 

2:00 – 4:00pm  

Intro of YSEALI Academy/ seminar agenda Fellows’ networking 

Panel discussion 1 

Team project Session 1 

Homework 2 

Panel discussion 

  

Evening  

6:30-8:30pm 

Lecture 1 (intro) 

  

Lecture 2 

  

Lecture 3 

  

Lecture 5 

  

Team project Session 2  

  

Week 2 

Day 6 

Monday 

Day 7 

Tuesday  

Day 8

Wednesday 

Day 9

Thursday 

Day 10 

Friday 

  

Morning  

9:00–10:30am 

Lecture 6 

Leadership workshop  

Leadership workshop  

Team presentation 

Lecture 10 

 

Afternoon  

2:00 – 4:00pm 

Panel discussion 3 

Team project Session 3 

Homework 3  

Team presentation 

Class reflection; Graduation Ceremony 

 

Evening  

6:30-8:30pm 

Lecture 7 

 

Lecture 8 

Lecture 9 

 Panel discussion 4 

Free 

 

 

VI. AGENDA


Morning (M): 9:00-10:30; Afternoon (A): 14:00-16:00; Evening (E): 18:30-20:30 unless otherwise specifedHanoi/Bangkok time (UTC+7)   

Date 

 

Topic 

Speaker/Host 

Day 1 

Monday  

March 14, 2022 

 

 

M  

Opening Session 

Guest welcoming 

 

Welcoming remarks 

 

Remarks  

 

Keynote speech  

Q&A session  

 

Fellow’s remark 

 

Madam Dam Bich Thuy, President, Fulbright University Vietnam 

US Department of State  

Keynote speaker: Ali Badreddine, Vice President, Project Delivery, Energy and Sustainability Asia Pacific, Johnson Controls 

A Representative Fellow 

A 

Overview of seminar agenda and logistics information. 

Networking  

Huynh Trung Dung, Public Policy Faculty Lead, YSEALI Academy 

Nguyen Xuan Ngoc Hanh, Program Officer, YSEALI Academy 

 

E 

 

Lecture 1  

Environmental Economics: A Primer 

David Dapice  

Harvard Kennedy School 


Day 2 

Tuesday  

March 15, 2022 

 

 

 

Homework 

 

 

 

Panel Discussion 1  

Climate Change, COP26, and the Role of Energy Transition 

 

Koos Neefjes, Director, Climate Sense (Vietnam) 

Nashin Mahtani, Director, Yayasan Peta Bencana (Disaster Map Foundation) 

Anatole Boute, Professor, The Chinese University of Hong Kong 

Tue Anh Nguyen, Research Fellow, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, University College London (UCL) 

Puree Sirasoontorn, Assistant Professor at Faculty of Economics, Thammasat University 

 

E 

Lecture 2 (7:00-8:00pm) 

Climate Change: Carbon Capture and Net Zero: A primer 

 

Damo Menon  

Former executive at ANZ Bank; currently Independent Consultant for NGOs and start-ups, Strategic Advisor – Americas for UK’s Cambridge Center for Climate Repair 

 

Day 3 

Wednesday  

March 16, 2022 

 

 

 

Homework 

 

 

Team project  

Team Feedback  

Le Viet Phu 

Huynh Trung Dung 

Fulbright University Vietnam 


E 

 

Lecture 3  

Governance in the environment 

Edmund Malesky  

Duke University 


Day 4 

Thursday  

March 17, 2022 

 

 

 

Lecture 4 

Climate Impact on Urban Development: How Robust Decision Making (RDM) May Help Policymakers 

 

Robert Lempert  

RAND Corporation 

 

 

Homework 

 

E 

 

Lecture 5 

Environmental challenges to the marine ecosystem in the South China Sea  

 

 

John W. McManus  

University of Miami  

Day 5 

Friday  

March 18, 2022 

 

 

 

Soft skill workshop  

Practical tips on slide design based on cognitive science. 

Tran Thi Thuy Trang, YSEALI Academy 

 

 

Panel Discussion 2 

Environment and Circular Economy 

Nguyen Hong Quan (moderator) 

Institute for Circular Economy Development (ICED), VNU - HCMC 

Jelmer Hoogzaad - Shifting Paradigms 

Richard McClellan – RMAC Advisory, LLC 

Loc Phan - Vietnam Food JSC 

Patrick Schröder - Chatham House 

Prof. Walter Vermeulen - Utrecht University 


E 

 

Team project 

 

Team feedback 

Le Viet Phu 

Huynh Trung Dung 

Fulbright University Vietnam 


Special Day 

Saturday 

March 19, 2022 

 

Distinguished Public Lecture  

(9:00-10:00) 

 

Daniel M. Kammen 

Director of Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL), Professor in the Energy and Resources Group (ERG), Class of '35 Distinguished Chair in Energy, University of California, Berkeley 

Moderator: Le Viet Phu 


Day 6 

Monday 

March 21, 2022 

 

 

 

Lecture 6 

Air pollution emission reduction strategies for clean air in Asia with climate co-benefit 

Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh  

Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) 


 

Panel discussion 3 

Air pollution, impacts and policy responses  

Do Van Nguyet (moderator)  
Director, Live & Learn for Environment and Community 

Nguyen Thi Trang Nhung, Professor, Hanoi University of Public Health 

Supat Wangwongtana, Senior Advisor, Thailand Environment Institute, former Director General of the Pollution Control Department 

Maria Katherina Patdu, Coordinator, Asia Pacific Clean Air Partnership (UNEP) 

Falguni Patadia, Scientist, Science and Technology Institute (STI), Universities Space Research Application (USRA), NASA Marshall Space Flight Center 


E 

 

Lecture 7 

Life Cycle Assessment vs. other tools for measuring environmental impact   

Edward Cunningham  

Harvard Kennedy School 

 

Day 7 

Tuesday 

March 22, 2022 

 

 

 

Leadership workshop 1  

(7:30 – 9:00 am) 

Influencing without authority 

Suzanne C. de Janasz  

George Mason University 


 

Team project 

Team feedback 

Le Viet Phu 

Huynh Trung Dung 

Fulbright University Vietnam 


E 

 

Lecture 8 

Waste Production in ASEAN countries: Pollution, Mitigation & Valorisation 

Su Shiung Lam 

Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) 

 

Day 8 

Wednesday 

March 23, 2022 

 

 

 

 

Leadership workshop 2  

(7:30 – 9:00 am) 

Capitalizing on everyday negotiations 

Suzanne C. de Janasz  

George Mason University 


 

Homework 

 

E 

 

Lecture 9 

Mekong River sustainability, impacts of hydropower dams on environment and livelihood 

Brian Eyler  

Energy, Water, Sustainability Program Director 

Southeast Asia Program Director, The  

Stimson Center  

 

Day 9 

Thursday 

March 24, 2022 

 

 

 

Team presentation 

 

Tran Thi Thuy Trang 

Le Thai Ha 

Le Viet Phu 

Huynh Nhat Nam 

Hoang Ha Thi 

Vladimir Mariano 

Huynh Trung Dung  

Fulbright University Vietnam 


 

Team presentation 

Tran Thi Thuy Trang  

Le Thai Ha 

Le Viet Phu 

Huynh Nhat Nam 

Hoang Ha Thi 

Vladimir Mariano 

Huynh Trung Dung  

Fulbright University Vietnam 


E 

 

Panel discussion 4 

Water governance and geopolitics (the Mekong River region)  

Courtney Weatherby, the Stimson Center (moderator) 

Chayanis Krittasudthacheewa, Deputy Director, SEI Asia (Thailand) 

Le Hong Hiep, Senior Fellow, ISEAS 

Diana Suhardiman, Director, Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies 

Socheata Sim, Oxfam Cambodia 


Day 10  

Friday 

March 25, 2022 

 

 

 

Lecture 10 (8:00 – 9:30 am) 

Emission Trading System (ETS) and implications for developing nations 

Wil Burns  

Northwestern University 

 

 

Class review and seminar evaluation  

Graduation Ceremony  

Closing remarks 

Recapture & seminar highlights 

 

Remarks  

Remarks 

Certificate Granting Ceremony  

Remarks 

 

E 

Networking event