Indonesia champions youth entrepreneurship as chair of ASEAN Youth Sector

24-Jul-2017

Source:  ASEAN Secretariat News

Indonesia champions youth entrepreneurship as chair of ASEAN Youth Sector

Jakarta, 24 July 2017 - Indonesia assumed leadership of the ASEAN Youth Sector from Cambodia during the tenth ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth (AMMY X).  Imam Nahrawi, Minister of Youth and Sports of Indonesia assumed chairmanship from Nos Sles, the Under Secretary of State for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of Cambodia, who had chaired the sector since 2015.

With the theme “Proliferating Youth Entrepreneurship in ASEAN”, the AMMY X capped a series of youth-related high-level meetings held on 18 – 20 July that included two preparatory Senior Officials Meetings for the AMMY X and AMMY Plus Three, and two separate ministerial meetings for the ASEAN Member States and the ASEAN Plus Three Countries.  The Ministry of Youth and Sports of Indonesia also spearheaded the ASEAN Youth Expo 2017 including the 22nd ASEAN Youth Day Meeting which was organised in parallel with the meetings.

The ministers shared their respective national plans and initiatives for the development and expansion of youth entrepreneurship in line with the ASEAN Work Plan on Youth 2016-2020 where entrepreneurship is a high priority.  They encouraged all partners to align initiatives and find synergy in the priority areas of the Work Plan.

The ministers also highlighted the need for ASEAN youth to play a more active role in the promotion of greater inclusiveness and tolerance and cited the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) initiative on “Culture of Prevention” as a potent means to achieve these.

At the sidelines of the meetings, the ministers launched the first ASEAN Youth Development Index (YDI) Report. The ASEAN YDI gauges the effectiveness of youth programmes in the region looking at the domains of education, health and wellbeing, employment and opportunity, and participation and engagement.  The report serves as a useful basis in planning new policies and interventions for the youth in the region.

Representing the Plus Three Countries at the meetings, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea underlined the importance of strengthening their relations with the ASEAN Member States through youth development.

The ASEAN Plus Three Ministers reiterated the importance of people to people exchanges which is key to achieving mutual understanding among the young generation. The ASEAN Plus Three Ministers reiterated strengthening of various initiatives aimed at building cross-cultural understanding and serving as bridges in connecting young people, geared towards building a foundation for future cooperation.

The Joint Statement of AMMY X and the Joint Statement of 6th AMMY+3 are found on these links.