30/04/2017
ASEAN Youth Statement - ASEAN LEADERS’ INTERFACE WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF ASEAN YOUTH
Philippine International Convention Center
Republic of the Philippines
29 April 2017
Your Majesty,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We, the representatives of our fellow ASEAN youth, must realize and uphold our responsibility as the backbone of the country and the region. The youth are considered to be a great driving force in promoting positive change in the ASEAN region, through various youth activities and projects that cover a wide range of priorities. Indeed, the youth play a significant role in contributing to the ASEAN community building. Thus, the ASEAN Leaders’ Interface with Representatives of ASEAN Youth with the theme “ASEAN Workplan for the Youth: Transcending Regional Boundaries”, highlights the full potential and collaborative efforts of the youth in the formulation of relevant policies.
ON COMPETENCIES, RESILIENCY, AND HEALTH
We, the ASEAN Youth, will promote and strengthen the participation in Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation, existing policies and agreements to increase awareness, access to information, and capacity development to reduce the impacts of disaster.
To address gaps in health services, knowledge and healthy behaviour, we advocate for contextualized approaches with the active involvement of the society, holistically in education awareness campaigns, creating the ASEAN Youth e-health platform, increasing the availability and advocating for the decentralization and utilization of services through inter-sectoral linkages.
ON YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP
We support the institutionalization of policies that will empower the youths on entrepreneurship. We believe that access to funding, both from public and private institutions, has to be made easier and tailored-fit for the sector to facilitate a more competitive, inclusive, and dynamic youth-led business environment.
We would also like to strengthen existing entrepreneurial programs and activities such as e-commerce training, boot camps, exhibitions or expos, mentorship, and curricula integration to capacitate and sustain the entrepreneurial zeal and ventures of the youth.
ON EDUCATION AND EMPLOYABILITY
We support the strengthening of educational policies that promote social creativity and innovation among ASEAN youth to equip them with lifelong learning values and competencies.
We encourage the continuous promotion of an inclusive ASEAN identity and community by supporting the expansion of existing exchange programs, with cultural and professional focus,and by collaborating with relevant bodies on their youth capacity building programs.
ON PEOPLE TO PEOPLE EXCHANGE
We recommend that each ASEAN member state, while acknowledging cultural diversity, will involve the youth in more socially responsive, gender-sensitive, and culturally-rooted programs such as the integration of the ASEAN identity in the curriculum and the utilization of technology that will embrace an ASEAN identity.
ON YOUTH VOLUNTEERISM IN ASEAN
In order to address the lack of involvement and coordination among ASEAN youth organizations, we urge our ASEAN leaders to establish a platform that would advance youth volunteerism in the region
ASEAN youth must utilize the power of social media to further volunteerism and bring the ASEAN youth volunteers closer, by strengthening coordination, forging partnerships, and expanding their reach to integrate ASEAN Communities.
We collectively urge our ASEAN leaders to take actions and heed the call of the ASEAN Youth. We ask for their continued support to further the accomplishments and ongoing efforts towards the realization of the ASEAN Youth Work Plan 2016-2020, parallel to the ASEAN Community Vision 2025.
