ASEAN Circle
All member states in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) are ratified signatories of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. However, disability and oral health (DOH) can be an elusive ambition for developing nations. There is a need for our dental professionals to come together.
The ASEAN Circle promotes the improvement of disability oral health within South East Asia. This ensures:
Initiation and succession of oral health professionals who are keen in DOH within developing and developed nations,
A stepping stone for budding DOH sectors in developing countries to take part, before rising to form their own national establishments,
Network, deliberation and exchange of initiatives specific to ASEAN.
The ASEAN CIRCLE is a fellowship of like-minded and action driven individuals within the ASEAN region promoting special care dentistry and oral care in vulnerable persons. These regional members will be accepted as international members under SOCN, if they take on a project or initiative within their countries (or a region), and will continue to receive SOCN membership benefits for that year.
This is to promote action within the region. Projects can range from
getting a inclusive dental product to be officially registered in your country, through working with authorities, corporations, universities etc.
starting a special care dentistry association or society within this country
organising special care dentistry based conferences with invitation to a regional audience
creating inclusive materials (e.g. communication tools or IT apps), or providing translation to established ones (e.g. Bahasa Melayu, Thai language etc.)
working with various authorities such as the ministry, ministers, advocacy leaders and organisations, universities locally and overseas, to establish the specialty of Special Care Dentistry
and many more...
Through collective feedback from key ASEAN SCD dental stakeholders, the ASEAN circle shall focus on 5 key aspects:
Advocate and lobby to authorities and stakeholders via a common platform
Engage PWD and their communities in oral health, and lobby to high-level stakeholders to initiate sector changes.
Encourage policy/guidelines development at regional, national, and cross institutional levels
Formalise special care dentistry as a field, a career, and a comprehensive path for upskilling
Empower care providers, suppliers, disability organisations and other local stakeholders, in disability oral health promotion, within and beyond borders
Reference: Lim et al., 2022
DETAILS OF INTERNATIONAL MEMBERSHIP (IM)
IM shall be conferred on persons who are rendering, or have rendered, notable service to the advancement of Special Oral Care or Special Care Dentistry outside Singapore.
IM do not have to make payment or dues for membership or application fees.
IM are recommended by the Committee and elected by majority at a general meeting.
IM will neither be eligible to vote nor hold office.