Faculty of Arts and Letters student Ean Dominique R. De Castro, who is in his fourth year under the BA Economics program, participated in the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR) Conference held from February 15 to 18, 2019 at the Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Over the years, HPAIR’s international conferences have emerged as one of Harvard University’s largest student-run annual events in the Asia-Pacific region, welcoming a wide variety of distinguished speakers and future leaders. It engages highly qualified delegates from
90 countries from all over the world. Hence, being accepted to the HPAIR Harvard College Conference represents an extraordinary accomplishment deserving of support and recognition.
With the event’s grand theme “Ignite: Inspiring a New Global Narrative,” 2019 Harvard Conference this year was comprised of a phenomenal group of speakers, namely, Dr. Dino Patti Djalal (Former Indonesian Ambassador to the U.S.), Dr. MK Tan (Chief China Economist of Goldman Sachs), Mr. George D. Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D. (President and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals), General ANM Muniruzzaman (President and CEO, Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies), Mr. Richard Robinson (Founding Partner, nHack), Prof. Karen Thornber (Director of the Harvard University Asia Center), and among others.
During the conference, the delegates discussed and learned about the most important economic, political, and social issues facing the Asia-Pacific region. Participants were divided into six tracks, namely, Arts, Media and Culture, Energy and Environmental Sustainability,
Entrepreneurship and Technology, Global Market and the Economy, Governance and Politics, and Social Policy and Justice.
The delegates also had the opportunity to explore Harvard’s campus and the Boston area, including sites such as the Freedom Trail, Boston Common, Museum of Fine Arts, Ritz Carlton Hotel, the site of Opening Ceremonies and Charles Hotel, the site of Gala Night. De Castro was the only undergraduate student from the University of Santo Tomas who participated in the HPAIR 2019 Conference. He was assigned in the Energy & Environmental Sustainability Track.
As an Economics major, he strongly believes that the environment and the economy are really both sides of the same coin. “Environmental sustainability should be taken into consideration while growing the economy,” said De Castro.
