The Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is calling for nominations for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) People’s Award 2015 in conjunction with the establishment of the ASEAN Community (AC) at the end of this year.

In a statement, the ministry said the association has decided to honour ASEAN member states’ individuals and organisations who have made outstanding contributions to AC building.

The contributions can be in any areas from political, social and cultural development, economic integration, youth and livelihood, education, volunteerism, community development and empowerment, it added. The contributions may also entail achievement in the areas of wide-community and voluntary activities, poverty eradication, rural development, charity work, education, research and publication, arts as well as entrepreneurship.

The recipient would be awarded a grant of 10,000 USD to support and encourage the efforts to continuously work and contribute towards AC building process, to be presented by the ASEAN leaders during the 27th ASEAN Summit held in November 2015.

Nominations may be submitted by individuals or organisations to the national ASEAN Secretariat in each member states following the required documentation. Only citizens of and organisations registered with ASEAN member states are qualified for nominations.

The ASEAN People’s Award is a celebration of the region’s wealth of exceptional talents, creativity, and innovation, said Le Luong Minh, Secretary-General of ASEAN.-VNA