Youth Forum
ASEAN’s Youth Forum brings together youth from diverse communities and gives them a platform to share their ideas, concerns, and hopes. Our ASEAN Youth Forum nurtures the youth, turning dialogue into action, and action into results. At ASEAN, we recognise that our youth will grow into the leaders of the future, and now more than ever, we see an incredible opportunity to empower young Australians who feel disaffected and unheard to make their voices count.
The role of youth within ASEAN’s Youth Forum will chiefly be advocacy. Our youth will be mentored and guided on their advocacy skills and will get the exciting chance to hone these skills through various meetings and dialogues set up by ASEAN. This hands-on experience with advocacy, activism, and leadership will be instrumental in building up our talented youth as future leaders and decision-makers in Australia. They will have the opportunity to develop real skills, make meaningful connections, and help grow the ASEAN network and its reach.
ASEAN Youth Forum encourages our youth to collaborate directly with government bodies to make sure our voices are heard at the highest levels. Three of ASEAN’s current Youth Ambassadors—Aiden Ek, Dylan Ek, and Tristan Manwaring—have already led a youth roundtable with the Department of Home Affairs at their headquarters in Parramatta. They were joined by other delegates from community organisations allied with ASEAN and its vision, creating a platform for meaningful dialogue and collaboration. Our Youth Forum will maintain consistent collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs moving forward, and we look toward expanding our collaborations with other government bodies.
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Youth Forum also seeks to empower our youth through other initiatives, including the recently established Michael Kirby Award (MKA), which is awarded to those who are committed to advancing social cohesion and champion the principles of human rights, equality and justice. Additionally, ASEAN Youth Ambassador Aiden Ek appeared on a UN Podcast at a UTS event, where he shared his perspectives on human rights issues. These initiatives recognise the hard work of our youth and empower them towards further advocacy.