Within countries in the Asian region are many communities grappling with complex problems such as ethnic conflict, widening poverty gap, marginalization of indigenous people and unsustainable use of natural resources. These problems have created divides that limit the potential of growth and prosperity to spread out to all. Resolving these divides requires credible leaders who will bring together diverse and multi-sectoral groups, committed to pursue long-term economic development program and sustainable interventions. This brand of leadership, aptly called Bridging Leadership, involves taking ownership of the divides and assembling the various parties to recognize their stake in the issue and together seek sustainable solutions to these divides.
The Asian Institute of Management (AIM) – TeaM Energy Center (formerly known as AIM Mirant Center) was established in 2004 as an endowed leadership and research institute that will provide capacity to address exclusion and inequities towards a society without divides. It is a continuing expression of the Asian Institute of Management’s (AIM) mission to the development of more equitable Asian societies, and a fulfilment of TeaM Energy Foundation’s commitment of ensuring sustainable development especially in Mindanao.
The Center subscribes to Amartya Sen’s view that income poverty alone is not sufficient to understand the cause of the problem. Poverty in terms of lack of capability of the person to freely chart his/her own development is critical as well. In addition to programs that reduce poverty, opportunities that allow individuals to enhance their social, political and psychological capabilities should be on hand. Communities need empowered citizens to engage institutions to become more responsive, and hence provide opportunities that increase the freedoms the persons enjoy and that reduce the divides between them. Communities need leaders capable of inspiring citizens to take responsibility for their own needs and to work with various sectors and institutions to attain the equity and prosperity due them.
The Center aims to develop Bridging Leaders who understand the societal divide and make personal and committed responses to address the divide, engage critical stakeholders to take ownership of the problem and its solutions, and work with them to facilitate program interventions that will bridge the divides.
It provides capacity-building activities through public offerings, customized programs to meet the needs of particular groups and through the academic curricula of AIM. A research program disseminates experiences of bridging societal divides in the Philippines and other Asian countries, produces papers and contributes to theory development on Bridging Leadership. The Center also cultivates partnerships with the alumni of its program, with other academic institutions and social investors who believe in Bridging Leadership as an approach to addressing societal divides facing the Philippines and the rest of Asia.
For years 2005-2010, the Center’s geographical priority in the Philippines is Mindanao, particularly the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). In Asia, the Center’s future focus will be in Indonesia, the Mekong region and South Asia.
Promoting Peace and Development in Mindanao
In contrast to Asia’s economic recovery, the post-conflict areas in Mindanao remain the poorest among the provinces of the Philippines. The unstable peace and order situation, ongoing threats to peace and human security, lack of livelihood and employment opportunities, lack of control over resources, high mortality rates, and major population displacement, are only some examples of the problems that have slowed the pace of development and deterred the advance of peace in Mindanao. These problems have not only aggravated poverty and widened societal divides; they are also the sources of “unpeace” in Mindanao’s post-conflict areas.
The problems have to be addressed by the different stakeholders who have an interest in solving the sources of unpeace. Negotiating interactions between the different stakeholders is the first step to sustaining the peace and economic development process. With peace at hand, there needs to be collaborative action among the major stakeholders to advance the overall state of peace and development in Mindanao.
The role of the AIM TeaM Energy Center is to enhance innate values and skills of Bridging Leaders in Mindanao to effectively develop alternative processes for encouraging trusting and collaborative relationships among diverse sectors. A multi-stakeholder and participative approach to defining an encompassing solution will not only play a vital role in reconciliation but, more than ever, in reconstruction.
The AIM TeaM Energy Center will have a special focus on addressing the societal divide issues and the leadership challenges in Mindanao. This is reflective of the desire of Mirant Philippines to have a concrete and lasting contribution to the promotion of peace and development in Mindanao.
Vision: A society without divides.
Mission: We will develop Bridging Leaders who will address and diminish societal divides in Mindanao, the Philippines, and the Asian region.
