ASEAN+3 Youth Festival

Objectives

The AYF hopes to achieve the following:

(a) Provide a platform for youth leaders to come together and interact with one another, so as to enable the delegates to gain a deeper understanding of each other’s countries and the East Asia region as a whole, as well as to develop a greater appreciation with regards to the diversity and different cultures in East Asia;

(b) Inspire and motivate the delegates to step out and do their bit for the region by delivering the various proposals on different key issues they are required to draft and formulate through discussions during the Youth Forum event;

(c) Enable delegates to forge and cultivate long-lasting friendships and bonds which will pave the way for greater and more co-operations and collaborations in many fields in future; and

(d) Showcase the vibrancy as well as the role of youths in today’s society and spread the message that youths can play a part and have the potential in making a difference to society.

Theme

The theme of the AYF is ExpressO, which means “Expressing Ourselves”.

It is hoped that this theme will be able to encourage and urge youths to “express themselves” throughout the week long festival and throughout their lives. Apart from that, ExpressO, similar to the type of coffee, Espresso, also represents the energy of a revitalizing wake-up call, a call on youths to step out and make a difference to their community and society, through coordinated and concrete action plans.

Target Audience

The AYF aims to engage about 150 youth leaders between the ages of 18 and 25 from the ASEAN+3 countries, with 10 youth representatives from each foreign country and 30 youth representatives from Singapore. Youth Organisations (YOs) from Singapore will be invited to nominate youth leaders for an interview, following which successful applicants will form the 30-strong Singapore delegation.

Singapore youths will also have the chance to partake in the AYF either as Liaison Officers (LOs) who will be tasked to take care of the delegates or as volunteers to assist in the planning and running of activities and programmes.

For Philippine Youth who wants to apply for the AYF please visit www.youth.net.ph