Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

ASEF holds policy dialogue on SDGs with Asia-Europe young leaders back-to-back with the ASEAN Youth Conference 2023

Project Updates

Share:

Published:
23 Nov 2023

We had an inspiring, productive dialogue with 15 remarkable delegates from student and youth organisations in Asia and Europe about Higher Education Policies Working towards the SDGs in Asia and Europe! In partnership with the ASEAN Youth Organisation (AYO), we organised the ASEF Policy Dialogue with Youth as a side event to their flagship annual event, the ASEAN Youth Conference, which were held back-to-back from 2 to 5 November 2023 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

We welcomed representatives from ASEFEdu’s longtime partner organisations such as the European Students’ Union (ESU), Erasmus Student Network (ESN), Global Student Forum (GSF), Student Think-Tank for Europe-Asia Relations (STEAR), and AYO. We are also proud to have representatives from new dialogue partners such as the Asian International Mobility for Students (AIMS) Programme Alumni Network, the Union of Youth Federation of Cambodia, United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN SDSN) Youth Initiative, Asian Law Students’ Association (ALSA), Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR), and University of Santo Tomas (UST).

This group of passionate young leaders had a full day of workshops, which was opened by inspiring messages from:

  • Rodora BABARAN, Director of Human Development, ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Department, ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC). Her message focused on various initiatives that reinforce how higher education enables ASEAN countries to move forward and achieve sustainable development.
  • Lukas GAJDOS, Acting Head of Delegation/Chargé d’Affaires a.i., Delegation of the European Union to ASEAN. He talked about the EU’s multiple exciting platforms and initiatives for youth in Europe and ASEAN such as the EU-SHARE Programme and other efforts for regional harmonisation in higher education.
  • Michael Nugraha BUDIARTO, Managing Director, ASEAN Youth Organisation (AYO). He reiterated AYO’s commitment to promote cultural exchange, and to better understand what each region has to offer and how we can tackle globalized challenges together.
  • Reka TOZSA, Director of the Education Department, Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF). She thanked the ASEAN Secretariat for hosting the event and AYO for their partnership in building synergies and supporting each other in building impactful peer-to-peer networks across Asia and Europe to address the SDGs.

We also had the pleasure of having Dr Roger CHAO, Head of the Education, Youth, and Sports Division of the ASEAN Secretariat, deliver a keynote message. His talk highlighted the importance of building inclusive partnerships, evidence-based policymaking, building supportive networks and pursuing sustainable initiatives as part of a global community.

The workshops, similar to previous ARC9 policy dialogues, gathered insights and recommendations from young leaders based on the findings of the 9th ASEF Regional Conference on Higher Education (ARC9) project’s report titled “Asia-Europe Higher Education Mapping: Working Towards the SDGs” (see full report here). Results of these discussions will be forwarded to the 9th ASEM Education Ministers Meeting (ASEMME9) in 2024. Our participants made sound recommendations on funding improvements, youth involvement in policymaking, and building more areas for robust Asia-Europe collaboration in higher education. Once available, the full dialogue report will be uploaded here, so stay tuned!

After the policy dialogue, our delegates proceeded to join 100+ other delegates in the ASEAN Youth Conference 2023. This year, guided by the theme “Guardians of the Sustainable Future for a Resilient ASEAN,” AYC gathered international young leaders and changemakers who are keen to share their thoughts about various persisting challenges and opportunities in our society and help develop and implement international projects. This will be the youth’s contribution to implementing the agenda for peace, stability, solidarity, unity, prosperity, and sustainability in ASEAN in accordance with Indonesia’s ASEAN chairmanship theme, “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth.”

We look forward to more opportunities to help strengthen the youth’s voice and work with them in contributing to the achievement of the SDGs!

Take a look at the full narrative report containing the discussion points and list of recommendations here.

To learn more about work in Education, visit our ASEF webpage. Highlights from our portfolio will also be shared from time to time through our e-newsletter and ASEFFacebook, ASEFEduFacebook, ASEFLinkedIn & ASEFEduLinkedIn pages. Follow us to stay connected!

 

 

Join our mailing list

Stay up to date

You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us, or by contacting us at info@asef.org. We will treat your information with respect. For more information about our privacy practices please visit our website. By clicking below, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with these terms.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp’s privacy practices here.

* indicates required
Subscribe to Newsletter(s)
Interests:

Powered by MailChimp

Please select all the ways you would like to hear from Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF):

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please visit our website.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.

Join our mailing list

Stay up to date

You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us, or by contacting us at info@asef.org. We will treat your information with respect. For more information about our privacy practices please visit our website. By clicking below, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with these terms.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp’s privacy practices here.