ASEAN stands for Association of Southeast Asian Nations. According to Wikipedia, The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a regional organization comprising ten southeast Asians states which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic integration amongst its members. ASEAN was formed in 1967 and has ten members. It is Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, The Philiphines, Brunei Darussalam, Viet Nam, and Laos. The principle of ASEAN is to accelerate economic growth, social progress, and sociocultural evolution among its members. One of the ASEAN programs is AEC.

AEC stands for ASEAN Economic Community. It has been started in late 2015 by Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It is a new collaboration of ASEAN members to promote development in every sector, such as politic, economy, security, and the other. ASEAN Economic Community aims to transform the region into a single market and production base with a highly competitive advantage to make it stable and prosperous region. From this goal, we can take conclusion that ASEAN Economic Community has four important pillars. They are a single market and production base, a highly competitive economic region, a region of equitable economic development, and a region fully integrated into the global economy.  

The first pillar of ASEAN Economic Community is a single market and production base. This pillar means that ASEAN Economic Community will transform the region into a single market and production base through free flow of goods, services, investment, capital and skilled labor. It means that we can trade and do business easily in ASEAN region because trade cost is cheaper than before. We also can travel and go within this region easily. Besides free flow, ASEAN Economic Community create integration of priority sectors. These sectors are electronics, e-ASEAN healthcare, wood-based products, automotive, rubber-based products, textiles and apparels, agro-based products, fisheries, air travel and tourism. From these sectors, we can conclude that the integration is created in food, agriculture, and forestry sector.

The second pillar is a highly competitive economic region. It means that ASEAN Economic Community helps to create a business-friendly and innovation-supporting regional environment. To reach the goal of the second pillar, ASEAN Economic Community creates some rule in competition policy, intellectual property rights, consumer protection, and taxation. Besides making some rule, ASEAN Economic Community also make development in some infrastructure, like improvement in transport sector. Moreover, ASEAN Economic Community also concern in E-commerce.

The third pillar is a region of equitable economic development. It means that ASEAN Economic Community will try to achieve sustainable and balanced growth and development. It will promotes SME development. ASEAN Economic Community also need participants who is creative and initiative so it can make ASEAN Economic Community become effective integration.

The fourth pillar is a region fully integrated into the global economy. This is pursued through a coherent approach towards external economic relations, including through free trade areas and comprehensive economic partnership agreements, and enhanced participation in global supply networks.

Indonesian young generation has big role in Asean Economic Community. Why? Because we have to compete with the other youth from the other countries. As we know, one of the ASEAN Economic Community pillars is a single market and production base. From this pillars, we know that we can travel within this region freely. It makes us can look for job in the other countries in ASEAN region. For example, I am student in Indonesia and I can look for job in Thailand easily.

What must we do as young generation to face ASEAN Economic Community? We can learn our neighborhood culture. Our neighborhood countries has a lot of cultures that is different with our culture. So, it means that we have to learn their culture. Why? Because when we learn their cultures, we can respect it. Besides cultures, they also have different languages. So we should try to learn about their languages. I think when we try to learn it, it can make some perception that we appreciate their culture, especially their languages. So it can make a strong relations between us. As Indonesian young generation, we have to know the challenges and problems from this collaboration, not only problems in our country, but also in the other countries. After knowing it, we can decide and take some solutions so we can minimalize risk from its problems.