ASEAN Youth Conference 2024: Bringing the voice of youth to the decision-making level

The world is grappling with multiple crises simultaneously, with some converging to make things worse for people and the planet. From 2024 being on track to be the hottest year on record to the atrocity happening in Palestine to the rise of living costs across the globe, it is easy to fall into despair and forget that so many people are doing their best to change the tides. At the ASEAN Youth Conference 2024, I was reminded of how young people are eager to contribute and create impacts for the better of the world.

ASEAN Youth Conference 2024

Held in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 20–22 November, the ASEAN Youth Conference 2024 brought a theme aligned with Lao PDR’s Chairmanship: “Investing in YOUth: Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience for Our Shared Future”.

It was a gathering of 78 young people (aged 16 to 35) with diverse backgrounds, stories, and visions. The delegates—as they called it—ranged from high school students to young professionals from ASEAN countries and ASEAN Dialogue Partners, such as Australia, India, and Afghanistan. I was one of them.

ASEAN Youth Conference (AYC) 2024 was an amalgamation of opportunity, representation, and contribution. It was a chance for a lot of learning, a lot of listening, and a lot of sharing. I learned from the insights and lived experiences of the panelists. I learned from my peers, other delegates coming from various walks of life and fields of focus. I also learned that I was still bad at understanding accented English, but it was fun to listen to them anyway.

Lessons Learned

The panelists brought their expertise in various topics across the three community pillars of ASEAN: ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC), ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC).

Among my favorite topics were countering misinformation, intergenerational mentorship, and championing inclusion for climate, peace, and security. One of the most insightful and exciting panelists was someone from the Deaf community FeminisThemis who talked about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

Meanwhile, the amount of Artificial Intelligence (AI) being discussed was quite surprising to me as someone who does not use AI in her daily life and is personally against the use of generative AI. While I was aware that AI was a hot topic due to its newness, rapid deployment, and lack of safeguarding framework so far, it was interesting to realize how much it had permeated the development sphere.

Informally, I learned that sustainable development remains an elusive concept. Even among highly educated individuals and youth experts, many still hold the misconception that sustainability is primarily about the environment, climate change, decarbonization, and science. When I told them I work as an editor for an independent digital media for sustainable development, a good chunk of them assumed I would not be very interested—or knowledgeable—in art and culture.

My work, along with that of other sustainability advocates, is far from over.

ASEAN Youth Vision

One thing that the delegates unanimously agreed on was how meaningful engagement of youth is still a challenge, especially at the decision-making level. We were lamenting about youth not being seen as a whole person. Furthermore, intersectionality remains something to tackle. For instance, AYC 2024 had a not-so-insubstantial fee and happened during weekdays, significantly limiting who could be a part of the conversation.

Still, I’d like to acknowledge the excellent work of the ASEAN Youth Conference 2024 by delivering the voice of youth through the ASEAN Youth Vision. It contained three working papers from the three community pillars as our official recommendations to the ASEAN Secretariat approaching the review at the end of the 2025 Blueprints.

It was worth the hard work and the headache to be part of young people working together toward a tangible result because we had a chance to have our voices and aspirations heard at the decision-making level. While there is much to improve, I am proud of our work with the ASCC Pillar Team.

At the ASEAN Youth Conference 2024, I met with other youth who are passionate about using their chosen crafts and fields to create a better world for all. In short, it was an ecosystem that bloomed with a sense of equality, justice, inclusion, innovation, learning, and, most of all, hope. The world is looking bleak right now, and sometimes, the future even more so. Yet, I’m not looking to stew in the feeling of doom. I’m looking to do what I can, to be the good and the stubbornness the world needs as we try to turn things around.

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