Dr. Filippo Bignami - MY

What made you decide to apply for a grant at the Leading House Asia?
In the years prior to the project, I exchanged ideas and some preliminary scientific collaboration with AEI. The idea was to work on the different conceptions of social and political citizenship in Europe and in Asia. The call provided us with a suitable way to concretize the idea and start a fruitful collaboration.

How did you secure a research partner?
It started from previous contacts. There was a shared scientific interest between SUPSI and AEI, and AEI supplied a suitable basis for the project.

How would you describe your experience of the programme?
We held two comparative scientific workshops. The first one introduced the theory of citizenship and debated on European and Asian viewpoints. In doing so, the focus was on laying out dimensions of social and political citizenship that have been pervasive in diachronic terms. A further focus was on dimensions that cover different individual and collective drivers of the relation between citizens and polity.

What role did the Leading House Asia play in the programme?
The role of the Leading House Asia was supportive and effective in supplying all details and information needed for achieving a successful project.

What were the impacts you made through the project/partners/individual?
The experience was fully satisfying and fruitful, with reciprocal appreciation for the partnership and for the scientific added-value from the two scientific workshops. On a “diplomatic” level, the commitment for the project was positive and supportive, since the Swiss embassy in Malaysia contributed in underlining the importance of the collaboration and of the relevance of our scientific input.
The collaboration with AEI has continued over time up to the present, and I was invited to be one of the plenary speakers in the ASEAN-EU Dialogue 2020 organised by the Asia-Europe Institute, University of Malaya (see external page https://aei.um.edu.my/aed2020), shifted online due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This collaboration also resulted in a scientific publication issued in 2021.
Exchanges and contacts are still ongoing and the intention to work again together, possibly in a further research project, is at stake.

Testimonial: what were your personal experiences/thoughts on the bilateral cooperation experience?
The experience of the project and of the bilateral cooperation was fully positive both in dealing with the Leading House Asia and with AEI as the partner abroad.