ASIA SOCIETY ANNOUNCES THE 2007 CLASS OF ASIA 21 FELLOWS

Asia 21 Fellows Convene in Kochi, India to Prepare for the Upcoming
Second Annual Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit in Singapore, November 2007

Asia 21: Leadership for a Shared Future
Taj Malabar, Kochi, India
March 1 - 4, 2007

New York, February 23, 2007 – Asia Society is pleased to announce the names of the 2007 class of Fellows for the Asia 21 Young Leaders Forum, a leading initiative for young leaders in the Asia-Pacific region. Established by the Asia Society with lead corporate sponsorship from Merrill Lynch, the Asia 21 Young Leaders program brings together the most dynamic emerging leaders under the age of forty from across the U.S. and Asia-Pacific region to develop shared, innovative approaches to addressing the challenges and responsibilities of global citizenship.

"In the face of a rapidly changing world whose focus is unquestionably tilting toward Asia, the Asia 21 Young Leaders program is one more way in which Asia Society is playing a role in creating unique forums where collaboration, exchange and better understanding can help address a range of challenges," said President of Asia Society, Vishakha N. Desai. As a non-profit educational institution, great ideas such as this one can’t become a reality without support. Merrill Lynch has been a true and wonderful partner in bringing about the success of this initiative.”

“The Asia 21 program fits perfectly with Merrill Lynch’s strategic goals of developing the next generation of leadership and continuing to build our presence in this important region," said Dow Kim, president, Merrill Lynch Global Markets and Investment Banking. “I look forward to seeing the contributions made by this vital and growing network of leaders.”

The Asia 21 initiative brings together Fellows from across the Asia-Pacific region representing a broad range of disciplines—business, politics, civil society, media, arts and culture, and academia—in a series of meetings and conferences designed to generate creative, shared approaches to leadership and problem solving. Fellows will come together twice per year in different cities in Asia to address topics relating to environmental degradation, economic development, poverty eradication, universal education, conflict resolution, HIV/AIDS and public health crises, and human rights. “This group of amazing young people will educate each other on what it means to be true leaders, and hold each other to those ideals not only today but 10, 20 and 30 years from now,” said Executive Vice President of Asia Society, Jamie F. Metzl who spearheaded this initiative. “We are delighted to have men and women of their caliber join as Fellows this year.

The Asia 21 Fellows are selected each year to serve a two-year term. The first meeting of this year’s class of Fellows will be held on March 3-5, 2007 in Kochi, India. This core group, representing sixteen countries, will join with the Fellows that were selected last year, to play a leadership role for the greater network of Asia 21 Delegates. They will lay the groundwork for the second annual Asia Society Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit, a major by-invitation-only event taking place in Singapore later this year. Nearly 200 Delegate joined the 2006 Asia 21 Fellows at the inaugural Summit which took place in Seoul, Korea, last November.

The twenty-four young leaders chosen for this year’s class of Asia 21 Fellows are from Afganistan, Ahmad Nader Nadery; from Australia, Michael Johnson; from Cambodia, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro; from China, Chung To, Scarlett Li, Shalini Mahatani and Nick Rongjun Yu; from India, Niret Alva; Shaffi Mather, Malini Mether and Logsang Sangay; from Indonesia, Veronica Colondam; from Japan, Rika Beppu; from Korea, H.S. Cho; from Malaysia, Suryani Senja Alias; from Mongolia, Damdin Tsogtbaatar; from Pakistan, Faiysal Alikhan; from the Philippines, Dennis Eclarin; from Singapore, Robin Loon; from Thailand, Piya Hanvoravongchai; from Taiwan, Fan Yun; and from the Unites States, Alamdar Hamdani and Natalie Ryes. Detailed Bios of the 2007 Fellows are attached below.

For more information about the Asia Society’s Asia 21 Young Leader’s Initiative and Fellows Program or to apply, visit www.Asiasociety.org.

For 2007 Fellows biographies, click here.

Asia Society is the leading global organization working to strengthen relationships and promote understanding among the people, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the United States. We seek to enhance dialogue, encourage creative expression, and generate new ideas across the fields of policy, business, education, arts, and culture. Founded in 1956, Asia Society is a nonpartisan, nonprofit educational institution with offices in Hong Kong, Houston, Los Angeles, Manila, Melbourne, New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, and Washington, DC.For more information, contact the Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021.

Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading wealth management, capital markets and advisory companies, with offices in 38 countries and territories and total client assets of approximately $1.6 trillion. As an investment bank, it is a leading global trader and underwriter of securities and derivatives across a broad range of asset classes and serves as a strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals worldwide. Merrill Lynch owns just under half of BlackRock, one of the world's largest publicly traded investment management companies with approximately $1 trillion in assets under management. For more information on Merrill Lynch, please visit www.ml.com.

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Contact: Jennifer Suh 212-327-9273

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