International Conference Paper Presentation
Culturally Intelligent Storytelling at the 15th Biennial ACFEA Conference
Ned Legaspi presented his paper, “Culturally Intelligent Storytelling: A Southeast Asian Lens on Narrative, Identity, and Engagement,” at the 15th Biennial Conference of the Asian Consumer and Family Economics Association in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The presentation brought a Southeast Asian cultural lens into an international, interdisciplinary conversation on consumers, families, identity, engagement, and contemporary social change.
From Submission to Presentation
A Southeast Asian Storytelling Framework Entered an International Academic Conversation
The ACFEA Academic Committee formally accepted the paper into the official program of the 2025 biennial conference. The acceptance followed blind review and recognized the work's academic quality and policy relevance.
Presenting in Hanoi placed culturally intelligent storytelling alongside research on economics, consumer behavior, finance, technology, family life, sustainability, and social well-being.
It also created space for a Southeast Asian perspective on how identity and cultural context influence the way narratives are understood, trusted, and shared.
A storytelling framework developed from Southeast Asian experience was presented not as a local curiosity, but as a contribution to a wider international discussion.
Conference Session
Session 2A: Comprehensive Issues
Session Information
An Interdisciplinary Panel
- Date
- Wednesday, July 9, 2025
- Time
- 3:25 to 5:05 p.m.
- Venue
- Conference Hall, Sunwah Building
- Session Chair
- Maxwell Hsu, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, USA
- Ned Legaspi's Order
- Paper 1
Ned Legaspi's Paper
Culturally Intelligent Storytelling: A Southeast Asian Lens on Narrative, Identity, and Engagement
The paper examined how cultural context shapes narrative meaning, audience interpretation, identity, and engagement. It advanced a Southeast Asian lens for understanding how stories can connect across communities without becoming detached from the cultures that produced them.
This conference presentation formed part of the wider intellectual development of Ned Legaspi's work on culturally intelligent storytelling and the framework that would later grow into the C3 Bamboo Framework.
Session 2A Program
Four Papers Across Storytelling, Economics, and Human Flourishing
Conference Theme
Economic Issues Faced by Contemporary Consumers and Families
The conference examined how major forces of social and economic change affect consumers and families across Asia and beyond.
Climate Change
Environmental risk, sustainability, energy, consumer behavior, and the economic consequences of a changing climate.
Population Aging
Well-being, health, retirement, financial literacy, caregiving, and the evolving needs of older consumers and families.
Digitalization
Artificial intelligence, digital finance, e-commerce, technology adoption, media, and changing patterns of participation.
International Conference Context
Hosted in Hanoi by ACFEA and Vietnam National University
The 15th Biennial Conference was organized by the Asian Consumer and Family Economics Association, with the School of Interdisciplinary Sciences and Arts of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, serving as local host.
The conference gathered scholars from universities and institutions across Asia, North America, Europe, and the Middle East for keynote sessions, concurrent panels, country reports, and interdisciplinary discussions.
The Hanoi presentation became one of Ned Legaspi's early international academic engagements focused specifically on culturally intelligent storytelling.
Event Archive
A Southeast Asian Framework Presented on an International Stage
This archival event records the international presentation of Ned Legaspi's work before an interdisciplinary academic audience in Hanoi. It documents an important stage in the development of his scholarship on culture, communication, identity, and storytelling.
The event also reflects the direction of his broader work as an author, educator, and speaker: developing ideas from Southeast Asian experience and bringing them into meaningful conversation with wider audiences.