Among the highlights of the week will be the public lecture in the Coombs theatre on Monday evening 6-7.30pm by Hak-joon Kim, President and Publisher, Dong-A IIbo (East Asia Daily) who will be speaking about the North Korean nuclear issue. At lunchtime on the same day in the Coombs theatre 12:30-1:30pm, Professor Kiichi Fujiwara from the Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo, will speak about Asia in the aftermath of democratic transition.

Another prominent event will be a roundtable in the Coombs theatre on Wednesday between 2-5pm on the economic outlook for East Timor and the Timor Gap Treaty presented by Dr Joao Saldanha, Timor Institute of Development Studies, Jenny Drysdale and Alex Munton (ANU), and Hal Hill (ANU) as discussant. Other international presenters include Ralph Regenvanu from the Vanuatu Cultural Centre who will speak on Wednesday night 6-7:30pm Coombs theatre on the traditional money banks in Vanuatu project. Professor Amitabh Kundu, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, will speak on Monday 10:30-12:30 in the McDonald Room, Menzies Library on political economy of urbanisation in less developed countries with emphasis on South Asia. On Tuesday 1:45-2:45 in Coombs Extension Seminar room 1.13, Professor Byung-kook Kim, Director of the East Asia Insitute and Professor in the Department of Political Sciences at Korea University, will present a lecture on the future of South Korea foreign policy titled 'The future is already here. Or, is it? South Korea between rising China and hegemonic America.'

Several other public events will be held during the week. Professor Martin Stuart-Fox from Queensland University will speak about Buddhism and politics in Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand on Monday 1:30-3 in Haydon Allen Building GO52. On Tuesday 10:30-12 in the McDonald Room, Menzies Library, Dr Stephen Howes, senior economic adviser to AusAID will speak about future directions of Australian aid. Professor Laksiri Jayasuriya will retrace the history of the Australian-Asia connection from Alfred Deakin to John Howard on Wednesday at 12:30-1:30pm in the Coombs theatre. Dr Kilifoti Eteuati, the High Commissioner for Samoa will speak about contemporary issues in the South Pacific on Thursday at 1:30-3 in the Coombs theatre.

Other public events include free evening film screenings 8-9:30pm in the Coombs theatre on Monday (Girls with long legs hosted by the Vietnam program), Tuesday (Betelnut Bisnis hosted by the Pacific Islands program) and Wednesday (In the Play of Life and Consulting Embah Wali hosted by the Indonesia program). Asia Pacific Week will close with a cultural evening featuring Chinese and Vietnamese performances, and the band Pacific Gruuve.