How can YOUth shape Society?
WHAT IS #ASEFYLS?
The ASEF Young Leaders Summit (ASEFYLS) is a Youth platform that connects young people across Asia & Europe, applying a 360 degree approach on leadership development and community engagement: 1) self-leadership (you), 2) team leadership (we) and 3) societal leadership (all).
The 6th ASEF Young Leaders Summit (ASEFYLS6) is a youth leadership programme focusing on ‘Leadership in Society 5.0’, with collaborative programme elements taking place both virtually and physically.
The Society 5.0 concept describes a human-centered society that balances economic advancement with the resolution of social problems by a system that highly integrates cyberspace and physical space. ASEFYLS will explore what kind of leadership is needed for Society 5.0 and how young people can prepare with ethical, inclusive and sustainable values.
It aims to give #Youth the opportunity to:
WHAT WAS THE #ASEFYLS6 NAVIGATORS TRAINING?
The 6th ASEF Young Leaders Summit (ASEFYLS6) programme took place from July to October 2025, consisting of 3 phases with the aim to give participants the opportunity to learn, to collaborate and to turn theory into action: (1) the Knowledge Building Phase; (2) the Leadership in Action Phase and (3) the Youth Summit.
ORGANISATION AND SUPPORT
The Navigators Training was held before the main ASEFYLS6 programme. We are grateful to co-organised the training with the College of Europe Natolin who hosted the training at the Natolin Campus in Warsaw in Natolin. The training brought the Navigators together in person in Warsaw for 4-days capacity building in preparation for their subsequent roles in the three phases of the programme.
A special thank you goes to Mr Marek TABOR, Head of Office and Ms Barbare OKROPIRIDZE, Executive Education Specialist, for helping us welcome the participants to Natolin and for the incredible coordination and support on the programme.
THE PROGRAMME
The training covered topics such as intercultural understanding and learning, team dynamics and how to navigate them, and challenge the Navigators to reflect on their own experiences, to develop their leadership skills, and prepared them to work in diverse, intercultural teams.
The programme began with opening remarks by Mr Marek TABOR, Head of Executive Education Office, College of Europe in Natolin as well as Ambassador Beata STOCZYŃSKA, Executive Director, Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), ensuring the participants were introduced to the College of Europe Natolin, as well as to Poland. Ambassador Witold SOBKÓW, Poland’s Special Envoy for Indo-Pacific, was also present and gave welcome remarks.
The programme then officially started with a series of interactive sessions to allow the Navigators to get to know one another and to encourage team building in a diverse, intercultural environment. Highlights included a UNESCO Story Circles Workshop, fostering deep listening and inclusive dialogue, and an in-depth exploration into 21st-century intercultural communication competencies.
During the week, the focus shifted to interpersonal understanding and team dynamics. Through personal profiling and teambuilding games led by Mr Łukasz DOBROMIRSKI, Head of Careers and Alumni Relations Office, College of Europe in Natolin to sessions on intercultural communications workshops for the Navigators to learn about different competences needed to navigate intercultural interactions effectively, led by Prof Wojciech SOSNOWSKI and Dr Maciej JASKOT, both from the Languages and Intercultural Dialogue Office, College of Europe in Natolin.
The Navigators were also treated to a tour around the College, gaining insights into the rich history of Natolin and Polish history connected to the campus.
To prepare them to lead discussions on the topic of ‘Society 5.0’ the Navigators had a full day to learn and reflect on the topic with sessions led by Dr Renata WŁOCH, Scientific Director, Faculty of Sociology at the University of Warsaw. The Navigators got to delve into the theme of Society 5.0, analysing the societal impact of technological advancements.
As the Navigators also will lead teams to gather case studies in subsequent phases of the programme, Dr Amel HAMMAMI, Senior Academic Assistant at College of Europe in Natolin, gave them introduction to the practice of conducting case studies.
The week concluded with sessions led by Ms Freya CHOW-PAUL, Youth Project Lead and Ms Linnea REGNELL, Project Executive at the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) on strategies for self-leadership and resiliency in the Navigator’s role, concluding with consolidation of the learning from the week and next steps for the subsequent phases of the programme.
SENIOR-JUNIOR LEADERSHIP DIALGOUE WITH AMBASSADORS
On Thursday, 14 July, the Navigators had the opportunity to meet directly with Ambassadors and Senior Leaders to discuss the role of young leaders in Society 5.0 from different national and regional perspectives in a ‘world-cafe’ style. We were very grateful to have the attendance and support of Ambassador Oyundari NAVAAN-YUNDENGIIN, Ambassador of Mongolia to the Republic of Poland; Ambassador Paul BALLANTYNE, Ambassador of New Zealand to the Republic of Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. Ambassador-designate to Ukraine and Georgia; Ms Elisa CASTALDO, Deputy Head of the Mission, Embassy of Belgium in Poland and Lithuania; as well as our own Executive Director at the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) Ambassador Beata STOCZYŃSKA.
During the dialogue, the speakers engaged in discussions with our Navigators and give advice on what young leaders can do to engage on a political and civil society level to prepare for and lead in the next stage of society.
This intensive week fostered intercultural understanding, cutting-edge knowledge, and empowered leadership—preparing Navigators to guide diverse teams and drive meaningful impact throughout the 6th ASEF Young Leaders Summit.
Thank you to the College of Europe Natolin for the photography.
WHO ARE THE NAVIGATORS?
The ASEFYLS6 Navigators are ASEFEdu alumni who will join the ASEFYLS6 as resource persons. The group of young Asians and Europeans will have the opportunity to un-learn, learn & relearn the “What” and “How” of leadership, particularly team leadership. ASEFYLS6 Navigators will co-lead groups of participants in collaborative tasks and peer-to-peer learning.
MEET THE NAVIGATORS!
Ms Kelsey GRAY
Australia
Ms Mayabee ARANNYA
Bangladesh
Mr Maxim VANDEKERKHOVE
Belgium
Ms Rachna THIM
Cambodia
Mr Antonis STYLIANOU
Cyprus
Mr Nikolaj KORNERUP
Denmark
Mr Jonas NITSCHKE
Germany
Ms Maryli POULI
Greece
Ms Virág KEMECSEI
Hungary
Mr Shabil Sach (Jau) PACHLEFI
Indonesia
Mr Itsuki TSUCHIDA
Japan
Mr Tomas AKYNOV
Kazakhstan
Ms Zivile EINIKYTE
Lithuania
Ms Elaine YEAP
Malaysia
Ms Namuun BATTSENGEL
Mongolia
Mr Si Thu WAI
Myanmar
Mr Matthew GOLDSWORTHY
New Zealand
Mr Cristian PAȘKA
Romania
Ms Lucía MORENO-ARRONES LORIENTE
Spain
Ms Isabelle WARD
United Kingdom
