MANILA — The US Embassy in the Philippines has convened at least 250 youth leaders representing all 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states in Manila last week.
US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim welcomed delegates himself and encouraged them to be a force for positive change.
He noted that “the 110,000 strong YSEALI network and the United States government are here to support you and your work as we build the future of ASEAN together.”
According to the embassy, the five-day advanced leadership training at the 2017 Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Summit was to equip the young ASEAN leaders to address the complex political, social, economic, and environmental issues confronting the bloc today.
Participants joined lectures, hands-on activities, and simulations during the summit.
Kevin Dela Cruz, a delegate from the Philippines, said: “The Summit helped me develop more holistic leadership and management skills, specifically for dealing with complex development situations.”
Throughout the summit, delegates marked ASEAN’s 50th anniversary and the 40th year of US-ASEAN partnership and discussed the role of youth in strengthening Washington and the bloc’s relations in the next 40 years.
In his remarks, US Mission to ASEAN Ambassador Daniel Shields described the deepening relationship between the United States and the group, noting “ASEAN is America’s 4th largest trading partner.”
“The United States invested over USD 274 billion in ASEAN by 2015 -more than in the Chinese, Indian, Japanese and South Korean economies combined,” he said.
Meanwhile, Susan Thornton, acting assistant secretary of State for the US Department of State’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, took questions from delegates via video conference.
Having seen YSEALI in action during the ASEAN Regional Forum, she noted that “it was encouraging to see a regional organization grappling with the critical issues of the day – North Korea, the South China Sea, terrorism, and cyber threats – and advancing our collective interests in peace and stability.”
YSEALI includes all ten ASEAN member nations, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and is open to individuals ages 18-35.
The 250 participants are all alumni of YSEALI academic and professional fellowships, regional exchange workshops, and Seeds for the Future grant programs.
Fifty-three were from Indonesia, 35 from the Philippines, 32 from Vietnam and 31 from Myanmar making up the largest country contingents at the youth summit.
Since its launch in 2013, the embassy noted that the YSEALI network has grown to more than 110,000 members.
YSEALI has granted more than USD700,000 in seed funding to multi-national teams for projects addressing the YSEALI development and foreign policy themes. (PNA)