Events

EU-ASEAN Young Leaders Forum

“Scenarios for the Future of EU-ASEAN Relations”

“In 2022, the EU and ASEAN mark the 45th anniversary of their partnership. Over these years, EU-ASEAN relations have grown into strong, multifaceted and comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Building on this momentum, we look to the next generation of leaders from across the EU and ASEAN to share their ideas and hopes for the future. With this in mind, the EU is pleased to organise this year, in cooperation with ASEAN, a new edition of the EU-ASEAN Young Leaders Forum”.

Igor Driesmans, EU Ambassador to ASEAN

“As strategic partners, ASEAN and the EU continues to enjoy a long-standing and robust relationship, with cooperation expanding in many areas in the past 45 years. This includes promoting initiatives in strengthening youth engagement and people-to-people connections such as the EU-ASEAN Young Leaders Forum. I believe that the youth should play a larger and meaningful role in building a more participatory, inclusive, sustainable, resilient, and dynamic global community. To foster stronger ties between ASEAN and EU, it is important for the youths of ASEAN and Europe to learn from each other and develop networks for collaboration.”

Dato Lim Jock Hoi, Secretary-General of ASEAN

90 young people aged 20-35 from the European and Southeast Asian business communities, academia and civil society organisations were selected in April to participate in the EU ASEAN Young Leaders Forum “Scenarios for the Future of EU-ASEAN Relations”, which runs between April and October 2022.
The programme combined online and hybrid sessions, with a series of capacity building programmes run by renowned experts, where youth developed skills for problem-solving through critical strategic thinking, teamwork, policy research and proposition.
Participants had the chance to make their voices heard by putting forward their proposals and taking part in shaping the future of EU-ASEAN relations.
They will present a set of strategic policy recommendations to Leaders at the EU-ASEAN 45th Anniversary Summit which will be held in Brussels in December 2022.
The Forum was funded by the EU and organised in close contact with the ASEAN Secretariat.
Partners of the programme: the ASEAN Foundation, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), College of Europe in Bruges and in Natolin, Asian Vision Institute and the New Horizon Project.

Programme

Part I: Launch of the EU-ASEAN Young Leaders Forum

26 April 2022
09.00 – 10.30 CEST – 14.00 – 15.30 WIB.

Opening remarks

H.E. Igor Driesmans
EU Ambassador to ASEAN

H.E. Dato Lim Jock Hoi
Secretary-General of ASEAN

Keynote speech

Federica Mogherini
Rector, College of Europe
former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
and Vice-President of the European Commission

read more

Part II: Capacity-Building Programme

Introduction to the EU-ASEAN Young Leader Capacity Building Programme and Activities
An opportunity for Young Leaders to meet and greet, get to know each other, and be introduced to online tools to stay connected.
Audience: Young Leaders

10 May 2022
09:30 – 11:00 CEST
Virtual (Zoom)

Sustainable Lifestyle Challenge 1: Plastic Free Week
Audience: Young Leaders

10 May – 24 May 2022

Exploratory webinar 1: Debating the Future of EU-ASEAN Relations
An opportunity for Young Leaders to meet and debate with Federica Mogherini, Rector of the College of Europe and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019.
Audience: Young Leaders

24 May 2022
09:30 – 12:00 CEST
Virtual (Zoom)

Sustainable Lifestyle Challenge 2: Reduce Your Food Footprint
Audience: Young Leaders

24 May – 7 June 2022

Exploratory webinar 2: Organic and Sustainable Food: What is it & why is it important for society and the environment?
The Young Leaders will learn more about organic farming and how it contributes to mitigating climate
change.
Audience: Young Leaders

28 June 2022
09:30 – 12:00 CEST
Virtual (Zoom)

Young Leader Representative Election Campaign
4 youth representatives to be selected to participate at the EU-ASEAN Summit in December 2022
Audience: Young Leaders

DATE TBC
Virtual (Slack)

Participation at the EU-ASEAN Higher Education Fair
Audience: Young Leaders

7 August 2022
Virtual (Zoom)

Training workshop 1: Cross-Boundary Leadership
Audience: Young Leaders

11 August 2022
09:30 – 12:00 CEST
Virtual (Zoom)

Training workshop 2: Solving Complex Problems
Audience: Young Leaders

18 August 2022
09:30 – 12:00 CEST
Virtual (Zoom)

Sustainable Lifestyle Challenge 3: Dress Sustainably
Audience: Young Leaders

23 August – 6 September 2022

Training workshop 3: A Case Study on Cyber Diplomacy
Audience: Young Leaders

14 September 2022
09:30 – 12:00 CEST
Virtual (Zoom)

Exploratory Webinar 3: Zooming in on the EU-ASEAN policy priorities
Audience: Young Leaders

26 September 2022,  09:30 – 11:00 CEST, Virtual (Zoom)
  • Political Perspective: Democratic Governance and Basic Rights in EU-ASEAN relations
  • Security in the Indo Pacific Region: Which role for the EU and ASEAN?
27 September 2022,  09:30 – 11:00 CEST, Virtual (Zoom)
  • Economic Perspective on EU-ASEAN Relations: Challenges and Opportunities of the next Generation of Free Trade Agreements
  • Green transformation in Europe and ASEAN: How to cooperate to accelerate green transition in ASEAN and the EU?

Part III:
One Week Forum from 4-7 October 2022
(4 half-days from 09.30-12.45 CEST)
and Closing of the Forum on 11 October 2022
(09.30-12.00 CEST)

Day 1, 4 October 2022

09:30 – 11:40 CEST, Virtual/Hybrid, Public event

Opening of the EU-ASEAN YLF 2022

INTRODUCTION
09:30 – 09:40

Shada Islam
Founder and Director, New Horizons Project

KAS ENGAGE ROUND
09:40 – 10:30
LINK

Representatives from different research clusters from KAS’s EANGAGE project (security, sustainable development and connectivity) will present their research outcomes conducted during 2021-2022, demonstrating committed engagement with these 2018 recommendations and paving the way for the thematic debates in the following days. A 15-minute Q&A session will follow.

Moderated by
Dr Chheang Vannarith
President, Asian Vision Institute

Panel Discussion ASEAN-EEAS
10:35 – 11:35
LINK

Peteris Ustubs
Director for the Middle East, Asia and Pacific, Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA)

Mr. Bala Kumar Palaniappan
Director of External Relations, ASEAN Political-Security Community Department, ASEAN Secretariat

Moderated by
Shada Islam
Founder and Director, New Horizons Project

Closing Remarks
11:35 – 11:40

Shada Islam
Founder and Director, New Horizons Project

Day 2, 5 October 2022

Audience: Young Leaders
Theme 1: Political Perspective: Democratic Governance and Basic Rights in the EU and ASEAN 

09:30 – 11:00 CEST
Virtual (Zoom)

Moderated by
Isabel Weininger
Interim Director, Department of Asia and the Pacific, KAS

Introductory Statements
Dr. Neth Thida Chanthima
Research Fellow, Asian Vision Institute

Theme 2: Security Perspective: Security in Indo-Pacific Region 

11:15 – 12:45 CEST
Virtual (Zoom)

Moderated by
Christian Echle
Head of Asia/Pacific Department, KAS

Introductory Statements
Dr. Christian Schultheiss
Visiting Scholar, Centre for Geopolitics, University of Cambridge

Day 3, 6 October 2022

Audience: Young Leaders
Theme 3: Economic Perspective: Future of FTAs between EU-ASEAN and ASEAN Member States 

09:30 – 11:00 CEST
Virtual (Zoom)

Moderated by
Dr. Maria Garcia
Head of Department & Associate Professor/Sr Lecturer, Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies, University of Bath

Introductory Statements
Jitana Khumnirdpetch
Head of Commercial Affairs, Office of Commercial Affairs, Royal Thai Embassy, Brussels

Theme 4: COVID-19 Mitigation and Recovery: An EU-ASEAN Health Partnership 

11:15 – 12:45 CEST
Virtual (Zoom)

Moderated by
Dato’ Dr Chong Chee Kheong
Senior Advisor for Health Security in ASEAN for Mitigation of Biological Threats (MBT) Programme

Introductory Statements
Ines Prainsack
Member of Cabinet of the Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides

Day 4, 7 October 2022

Audience: Young Leaders
Theme 5: How can the EU and ASEAN through multilateralism and climate governance support the objectives of the Paris Agreement? 

09:30 – 11:00 CEST
Virtual/Hybrid

Moderated by
Michał Kurtyka
Professor, College of Europe

Introductory Statements
Dr Mirza Sadaqat Huda
Lead Researcher, Climate Change in Southeast Programme, ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute

Theme 6: EU-ASEAN People-to-People Connectivity (Partnership in digitalisation, education, employment, and cultural exchange) 

11:15 – 12:45 CEST
Virtual (Zoom)

Moderated by
Dr. Roger Yap Chao Jr.
Assistant Director/Head of Education, Youth and Sports Division, ASEAN Secretariat

Introductory Statements
Brigitte Dekker
Research Associate at the Clingendael Institute

Day 5, 11 October 2022

Audience: Young Leaders
Closing of the EU-ASEAN YLF 2022 

09:30 – 11:00 CEST
Virtual (Zoom)

After a fruitful series of debates over the course of the YLF, Young Leaders will come together for this final session to exchange perspectives and produce a consolidated list of recommendations, based on the day-specific draft recommendations, taking into consideration the YLF and the previous workshops in their entirety.

Moderated by
Shada Islam
Founder and Director, New Horizons Project 

Compiling and discussing ideas for recommendations

Presentation of Final Recommendations 

11:15 – 12:00 CEST
Virtual (Zoom)

Lukas Gajdos
Deputy Head of Mission, Delegation of the European Union to ASEAN

Ms. Rodora T. Babaran
Director of Human Development, ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Department, ASEAN Secretariat

List of Selected Young Leaders*

From EU

  1. Mr Ergys Brocaj
  2. Ms Iliyana Nalbantova
  3. Ms Veronika Blablová
  4. Ms Zoé Elkær Nicot
  5. Mr Sasu Joona Kristian Katajamäki
  6. Ms Alma Smolander
  7. Ms Laila Fe Balinggan
  8. Mr Adrien Castermans
  9. Ms Louise Jeanne Marie Bouet
  10. Ms Juliette Loesch
  11. Mr Gregory Plummer
  12. Dr Kilian Spandler
  13. Mr Aaron Magunna
  14. Mr Simon Kaack
  15. Ms Celine Burke
  16. Mr Jonas Nitschke
  17. Mr Moritz Fink
  18. Ms Sofie Serrer
  19. Mr Felix Neumann
  20. Mrs Ioanna Nestoridi
  21. Mr Giorgos Verdi
  22. Ms Dimitra Missira
  23. Ms Saoirse Éireann Ní Chuilleagáin
  24. Ms Capucine Barcellona
  25. Mr Matteo Graziani
  26. Mr Alessandro Reali
  27. Mr Pierfrancesco Mattiolo
  28. Ms Antonella Benedetto
  29. Mr Aniello Iannone
  30. Mr Jonathan van de Gronden
  31. Ms Elizabeth Louise Kip
  32. Mr Ivo Walinga
  33. Mr Victor Charles Dominique de Valk
  34. Ms Nadia Tjahja
  35. Mr Łukasz Kobierski
  36. Ms Hanna Jadwiga Wdzieczak
  37. Mr Norbert Adam Kostanek
  38. Ms Sofia Barbeiro
  39. Ms Sinziana Dumitrescu
  40. Mr George Mihai Constantinescu
  41. Mrs Barbora Valockova
  42. Mr Roberto Giménez Llamas
  43. Ms Claudia Lozano
  44. Mr Gustavo Álvarez
  45. Mr Juan Carlos Mauritz

From ASEAN

  1. Ms Nurliyana Fatin Arifin
  2. Ms Khairunnisa Ash’ari
  3. Mr Wazif Zamri
  4. Mr Visa Pen
  5. Ms Sokneang Sam
  6. Ms Heng Bodalin
  7. Mr Raihan Ariatama
  8. Mr Muhammad Fahrian Yovantra
  9. Ms Amira Bilqis
  10. Ms Unaesah Rahmah
  11. Ms Marina Ika Sari
  12. Dr I Made Subagiarta
  13. Ms Silvi Angelia May Purba
  14. Mrs Khampalian NENGMONGVANG
  15. Ms Somphone Soukhathammavong
  16. Mr Zulkefli Mohd Yusof
  17. Dr Chern Choong Thum
  18. Mr Weng Lam CHU
  19. Mr Yohendran Nadar Arulthevan
  20. Ms Shasmeethaa Nair
  21. Mr Tseng Wen Heng
  22. Dr Nay Lin Tun
  23. Dr Aung Than Oo
  24. Ms Kyay Mon
  25. Mr Art Nel Bencolado
  26. Ms Sophia Mari Antoinette Ordoña
  27. Ms Loren Cristina Bustos
  28. Mr Ivan Harris Tanyag
  29. Mr Bertrand Michael Diola
  30. Mr Javier Rico Israel Tionloc
  31. Ms Robi Kate Miranda
  32. Ms Sharmishta Sivaramakrishnan
  33. Ms Nanthini Sambanthan
  34. Mr Hong Kai Tan
  35. Ms Farah Nadine Binte Mohamad Seth
  36. Mr Ming Hong Choi
  37. Ms Supakjira Meesakul
  38. Mr Pakorn Phalapong
  39. Ms Thatphorn Nakkarasin
  40. Ms Phantitra Phuphaphantakarn
  41. Mr Phasawit Jutatungcharoen
  42. Mr Dang Dao Nguyen
  43. Ms Ngọc Mỹ Nguyễn
  44. Mr Ky Nam Nguyen
  45. Ms (June) Tuong-Dung Nguyen

*The order of selected candidate is presented by alphabetically order of the country of origin, not by any type of ranking.