This year, the Asian Business and Management Program (ABMP) celebrates 25 years of fostering cross-cultural understanding and professional development between Canada and Asia. “We are proud of what we have accomplished,” said B. Michael Frolic, ABMP’s Executive Director. “Over the years, we have trained over 10,000 educators, officials, faculty, and students from Asia, winning national awards for our diverse and impactful programs. Our topics have ranged from public management and environmental cooperation to insurance and even blueberry farming.”
In 2000, ABMP started with a group of officials from Beijing, China who wanted to learn about Canadian management practices. Over the years, the program expanded to include workshops, site visits, and joint projects with partners in China and Vietnam. When the demand for training of officials began to change, ABMP turned to the universities and trained their faculty, students, and administrators. On York’s campus, groups of 25 university presidents or educators from Chinese colleges could often be seen taking a break from their ABMP program to enjoy lunch at York Lanes.
“We have employed dozens of York faculty, provided major research funding for faculty and graduate students working on Canada-China relations, and developed programs in Canada to support our Asian diaspora,” said Frolic.
With the recent downturn in Canada-China relations, ABMP has diversified by engaging with new partners, creating experiential learning opportunities for Asian-identifying students across Canada, collaborating with local not-for profit organizations to train Asian newcomers, and focusing on virtual programs instead of face-to-face training. Additionally, ABMP is developing initiatives in the Indo-Pacific region while expanding its work with Asian communities in Canada.
“ABMP has helped York University to reach out to Asia,” Frolic said. “We have learned much from the interchange between trainees and their teachers, from our engagement with officials here and abroad, and through our cooperation with partner universities in Asia. What better way to establish long term links and an understanding of different cultures and values? We are grateful for what we have been able to accomplish these past twenty-five years, and that it has been of value to those whom we have trained, and to York University.”
As we look ahead, we remain committed to fostering connections, promoting understanding, and adapting to the ever-changing needs of our partners in Canada, Asia, and beyond. Here's to the next chapter of building bridges and creating impact.