JAKARTA — Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan has asked media entities from the region, as well as those from East Asia, to help out the regional bloc achieve an ASEAN Community by 2015, as he thanked them for their contributions to the region’s political, economic, social, and cultural growth.

In the first leg of the three-day East Asia Regional Media Program initiated by New Zealand government with the European Union as co-sponsor, he cited the big role of the media in the emergence of a unified Asian community within the next five years.

“As we strive for an ASEAN Community by the year 2015 and the emerging larger Asian community, we do need your help. Every ASEAN citizen is responsible for spreading the message of ASEAN. But not all citizens have the luxury that you have with your job: the access to be at the forefront of events and happenings that matter in the region,” he said, addressing art least 52 senior journalists and media experts, including these twoBulletin reporters at the ASEAN secretariat where the conference, with a theme “Journalism at the Intersection of Politics, Religion, and Culture, is being held.

“The citizens of ASEAN continue to depend on your curiosity, persistence, and integrity to communicate the message and spirit of ASEAN, as we approach the ASEAN Community 2015,” he added.