ASEAN Youth Dialogue 2025

24 May 2025

How can young people shape a cleaner, fairer, and more sustainable ASEAN? That question took center stage at the ASEAN Youth Dialogue 2025, held on 24 May 2025 at KL Crown Plaza, where over 80 young changemakers from across Southeast Asia gathered under the theme “Youth for a Sustainable Future: Empowering Inclusion and Driving Change in ASEAN.”

Hosted in line with Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship theme of Inclusivity and Sustainability, the Dialogue brought together passionate youth leaders, environmental advocates, and development professionals to explore the growing intersection between business, human rights, and the environment, a space where youth voices are increasingly vital.
 

Mobilizing ASEAN Youth Action for the Right to a Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment (R2HE)

Asia continues to feel the impact of what’s been called the “triple planetary crisis”: climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. With communities facing rising temperatures, worsening air quality, and habitat destruction, the Right to a Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment (R2HE) has never been more relevant.

Through a collaboration between AOC and Youth Environment Living Labs (YELL), participants took part in an immersive session designed to unpack the role of youth in promoting sustainable business practices and defending environmental rights.

The day kicked off with an interactive icebreaker, followed by a thought-provoking presentation, “Connecting the Dots: Business, Human Rights & the Environment.” Speakers Jehan Wan Aziz (UNDP), Lim Su-Jin (YELL), and Mark Liao Jun (Sarawak Eco Warrior) guided participants through key concepts linking corporate behavior with youth futures — from biodiversity protection to ethical governance.

Su-Jin Lim, YELL Project Coordinator (YELL, 2025)

Youth Voices Across ASEAN

Representatives from all 10 ASEAN countries (including Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam) came together to share their perspectives. Participants explored the question: What roles can businesses, governments, and communities play in upholding environmental and human rights?

In breakout sessions, young delegates identified several barriers to meaningful participation, including limited government support, lack of funding, and minimal access to youth-friendly information about business and human rights.

Despite these challenges, they showed strong optimism and awareness, further recognizing that sustainable business must go hand in hand with equity, community well-being, and environmental responsibility.
Key Insights from Dialogue

• Youth want action, not tokenism. They called for greater inclusion in policy-making and corporate decision processes.
• Knowledge gaps persist. While most participants understood environmental impacts, fewer were familiar with the Right to a Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment (R2HE) prior to the event — highlighting the need for more training.
• Businesses matter. Participants emphasized that companies can be both protectors and polluters, and youth are ready to hold them accountable.
• Shared learning is powerful. Collaborative discussions helped participants connect regional issues with local realities, from biodiversity loss in rural Malaysia to plastic waste management in the Philippines.

The ASEAN Youth Dialogue 2025 was more than just a conference; it was a call to action. The conversations sparked a renewed sense of purpose among participants: to champion youth inclusion, advocate for environmental justice, and push for responsible business practices across the region.

As one delegate shared, “We can’t just wait for change. We must lead it.”