Overview
Youth comprise approximately a third of the combined population of ASEAN, constituting the largest ever cohort of ASEAN youth. The youth population of the region is projected to peak at over 220 million by 2038.
As the region’s future leaders, change makers, in novators and influencers of the region, ASEAN’s youth is both the region’s asset and hope of tomorrow that needs to be provided with meaningful opportunities to influence policies that have a direct impact on their lives.
Youth development in the region is supported through youth exchanges, youth leadership programmes, and youth volunteerism opportunities as well as skills training and social entrepreneurship programmes. ASEAN youth is encouraged to engage with ASEAN leaders and senior officials, to make their voices heard on issues that matter to them through various available platforms. These efforts are further complemented with research on youth development to support the development of policies and programmes that respond to their needs specifically in the areas of education; health and well-Being; employment and opportunities; participation and engagement; and ASEAN awareness, values and identity.
Priority Areas of Cooperation
ASEAN is a region that celebrates youth and their dynamism. 34 percent of ASEAN’s population consists of young people, aged between 15 and 34 years old. Promoting ASEAN awareness, values and identity amongst youth means laying the foundations of peace and stability in the region. Furthermore, encouraging ASEAN youth participation and engagement in regional development will create more opportunities for them to contribute to the realisation of ASEAN Community Vision 2025. In this light, youth development has always been central to the work of ASEAN.
ASEAN considers preparing its young people to become ‘future-ready’ through skills development and increasing their participation in policy discourse as its main priorities for the period 2021-2025. To embrace opportunities and address challenges, ASEAN seeks to foster innovative thinking among its youth to harness their ideas in creating solutions for regional development. To this end, youth cooperation in ASEAN is structured around the five (5) domains of the ASEAN Youth Development Index (YDI), namely: (i) Education; (ii) Health and Well-Being; (iii) Employment and Opportunities; (iv) Participation and Engagement; and (v) ASEAN Awareness, Values and Identity.
Major Sectoral Bodies/Committees
ASEAN Member States undertake cooperation on youth through the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth (AMMY), established on 8 August 1992 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Youth (SOMY) assists the AMMY in the operationalisation of cooperation based on the ASEAN Work Plan on Youth. To promote further youth development in ASEAN, in 2007, the AMMY established a mechanism for cooperation with the Plus Three countries, namely the People’s Republic of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea through the AMMY+3 and SOMY+3.
ASEAN Sectoral Ministerial Bodies
ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth |
ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Youth |
ASEAN Plus Three Ministerial Meeting on Youth (AMMY+3) |
ASEAN Plus Three Senior Officials Meeting on Youth (SOMY+3) |
Key Documents
- ASEAN Work Plan on Youth 2016-2020
- Terms of Reference of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth (AMMY)
- Terms of Reference ASEAN Plus Three Ministerial Meeting on Youth
(AMMY+3) - Terms of Reference ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Youth (SOMY)
- Terms of Reference of The ASEAN Plus Three Senior Officials Meeting on Youth (SOMY+3)
- ASEAN Declaration on the Adoption of the ASEAN Youth Development Index
- ASEAN Declaration on the Adoption of the ASEAN Youth in Climate Action and Disaster Resilience Day
- Joint Ministerial Statement of the Ninth ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth (AMMY IX)
- Joint Ministerial Statement of the Tenth ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth (AMMY X)
- Joint Ministerial Statement of the Eleventh ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth (AMMY XI)
Publications and Related Links
Entities Associated with ASEAN under the ASEAN Youth Sector
