In response to current tensions in the U.S.-Republic of Korea political relationship, the Mansfield Foundation has initiated a project intended to forge stronger political relationships among the current and rising generation of leaders in Washington and Seoul. As part of this project, the Foundation is organizing a series of dialogues that engage those individuals most likely play key roles in post-Bush, post-Roh administrations and in U.S.-ROK relations for decades to come.
The Trilateral Retreats: Toward New Regional Relations in Northeast Asia consisted of five three-day workshops designed to foster understanding and build cooperative relationships among a core group of emerging opinion makers and leaders from Japan, Korea and China. The program, co-sponsored by the Mansfield Foundation, Pacific Forum CSIS and the Asia Foundation, aimed to initiate meaningful progress in an area where historical legacies have long hampered bilateral and regional relations. The Retreats received funding from Asia Foundation; Sasakawa Peace Foundation, USA; Sasakawa Peace Foundation; Korea Foundation; Henry Luce Foundation; and Ford Foundation.
Mansfield Pacific Retreats
Since 1996, the Mansfield Pacific Retreats have given leaders from the United States, China, Korea and Japan an unprecedented opportunity outside formal diplomatic channels to address some of the most complex and sensitive issues common to the Asia-Pacific region. Past Retreats have focused on such issues as global climate change, food security and trade, energy and the environment, and urban air quality.
Each Retreat convenes an interdisciplinary group of 50-60 high-level officials from government, academia and industry for four days of presentations, keynote addresses, discussions and site visits. Retreats typically include congressional and ministerial participants.
Entrepreneurship in Asia
On April 16, 2003, the Mansfield Foundation and the Global Forum of Japan co-sponsored a daylong U.S.-Japan dialogue on Entrepreneurship in Asia. The program, which was held at the International House of Japan in Tokyo, convened two panels of leading entrepreneurship experts to discuss the state of new enterprise development in China, Korea, Hong Kong and Japan. Their discussion focused on the policies that help or hinder new business creation. In preparation for the dialogue, the Foundation published a compendium report in CD-ROM format. The report, which is entitled Entrepreneurship in Asia: Playbook for Prosperity, included the papers presented at a three-day Foundation-sponsored workshop in Hong Kong in July 2002, during which nine entrepreneurship experts explored new business creation in Asia.
