KUALA LUMPUR: Youths across ASEAN have called for urgent efforts to strengthen digital literacy and tackle climate change, identifying both as critical pillars for sustainable development and a greener future.
Malaysian youth representative Izzat Afifi Abdul Hamid said these issues received strong and encouraging feedback from ASEAN leaders, who expressed hope that the region’s youth would take a more proactive role in shaping ASEAN’s development, in line with ASEAN Vision 2045.
“We focused on youth development in a joint statement prepared by ASEAN youth representatives since last Wednesday,” he told reporters after the 4th ASEAN Leaders’ Interface with Representatives of ASEAN Youth, held on the sidelines of the 46th ASEAN Summit here today.
Izzat Afifi, who is also Malaysian Youth Council president, said the statement was well received, with leaders responding positively to the recommendations put forward by the youth delegates.
During the session, which was attended by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim along with ASEAN leaders and youth representatives, Izzat Afifi delivered the joint statement titled “Youth for a Sustainable Future: Empowering Inclusion and Driving Change in ASEAN”, outlining nine key points to enhance youth development across the region.
Also present were Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh and Deputy Minister Adam Adli Abdul Halim.
Meanwhile, Michelle Ann M. Villanueva of the National Youth Council of the Philippines expressed appreciation for the opportunity to elevate youth voices at the regional level.
“We are heard, we matter, and it is just an amazing experience because the people in the highest positions - those involved in policymaking and decision-making for every country in ASEAN - were there, and they heard what we had to say,” she said.
The 46th ASEAN Summit is being held under Malaysia’s 2025 Chairmanship, themed “Inclusivity and Sustainability.”
This marks Malaysia’s fifth time serving as ASEAN Chair, following previous terms in 1977, 1997, 2005, and 2015.
In conjunction with the summit, two high-level engagements -- the 2nd ASEAN-GCC Summit and the inaugural ASEAN-GCC-China Summit -- will also be convened, aimed at advancing regional and inter-regional cooperation.
