THE United States Embassy in the Philippines recently gathered at least 250 youth leaders representing all 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member-states in Manila.
US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim welcomed the delegates himself, and encouraged them to be a force for positive change.
He stated, “The 110,000- strong YSEALI [Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative] network and the US 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 YSEALI Summit was to equip the young 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.
Throughout the summit, delegates marked Asean’s 50th anniversary, as well as the 40th year of US-Asean partnership, and discussed the role of the 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 US and the group, noting, “The Asean is America’s fourth-largest trading partner.”
“The US invested over $274 billion in Asean by 2015—more than in the Chinese, Indian, Japanese and South Korean economies combined,” he said.
Meanwhile, acting Assistant Secretary of State for the US Department of State’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan Thornton took questions from delegates via a video conference.
Having seen the YSEALI in action during the Asean Regional Forum, she observed 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, [while] advancing our collective interests in peace and stability.”
The YSEALI includes all 10 Asean member-nations: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and is open to individuals ages 18 to 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, who all made up the largest country contingents at the youth summit.
Since its launch in 2013, the US Embassy noted that the YSEALI network has grown to more than 110,000 members. The YSEALI has granted more than $700,000 in seed funding to multinational teams for projects addressing its development and foreign-policy themes.
Image credits: TWITTER.COM, @USAMBMANILA