Mission and Goals

The Yuchengco Center was established on August 29, 1994 as the "Yuchengco Institute of Philippines-Japan Relations" devoted to the study of the cultural, political and economic relations between the Philippines and Japan. In 1997, the Board of Trustees changed its name to "Yuchengco Center for East Asia" to reflect its expansion to Northeast and Southeast Asia. In 2002, the Board shortened its name to "Yuchengco Center" signifying a shift toward a more issue and policy-focused perspective. Current activities are centered on research, conference organization and publications on relevant issues in the Philippines and Asian region.

The aims of the Center are to contribute to public knowledge and awareness on political, economic and social policy concerns and enhance its role as a think tank where research results and conference proceedings are regularly transmitted to the end users for evidence-based legislation, policy-making and programming.

To achieve these aims, the Center conducts various researches, project evaluations and capacity building for educators, planners and policymakers. It convenes conferences, workshops, lectures and seminars; and publishes research reports, conference proceedings, briefing papers, occasional papers and monographs dealing with important public issues.

Focal areas include globalization, regional security and foreign relations, governance and democratization, and human security particularly health and education.

The Center's institutional goals are:

• Enhancement of its leadership in policy advocacy through researches, conferences, publications, trainings and other activities dealing with social, economic and political issues;
• Expansion of its thematic areas by taking a proactive stance in addressing timely and emerging policy concerns;
• Establishment of interactive connections with national and international agencies for information exchange, dissemination and utilization; and
• Compilation and consolidation of research reports and distillation of the policy implications of the Center's researches and publications to delineate its contribution to knowledge in policy and program development.