The 2nd ASEAN-Japan Young Environmental Leaders Network (AJYELN) Symposium successfully concluded on 13 March 2025, marking a significant capstone in fostering youth-led environmental sustainability initiatives and strengthening regional collaborations. Under the theme of “Innovative Actions, Sustainable Progress”, this symposium brought together 33 young fellows, together with 130 online audience from ASEAN and Japan to showcase their year-long environmental projects, addressing marine plastic waste reduction and raising awareness in their local communities.
A Year of Innovative Actions, Sustainable Progress
This year, AJYELN fellows implemented 63 groundbreaking awareness campaigns and activities throughout August 2024 to January 2025, from encouraging active learning through competitions to developing a substitute to plastics. Their effort empowered nearly 18,000 individuals about the importance to be mindful with their plastic waste and established 47 collaborations with local communities and organizations. In addition, AJYELN has garnered more than 48,000 followers aged 15-35 years old in ASEAN countries and Japan through its social network pages via Facebook and Instagram. AJYELN has also gained international recognition during the ASEAN Working Group meeting on Environmental Education on July 10, 2024, and during the 18th ASEAN-Japan Dialogue on Environmental Cooperation on July 31, 2024, in Vientiane, Lao PDR. AJYELN was also invited as an online presenter at a youth-led side event during the Convening of Youth for the Future of Coral Reefs at COP to the CBD on October 29, 2024, in Colombia.
Expert-led Discussions
Renowned young environmental leaders in Indonesia and Japan engaged in in-depth discussions on youth advocacy and sustainability moderated by Ms. Ayako Takao of Climate Youth Japan. The keynote sessions set the stage for thought-provoking conversations:
- Keynote Speech #1 – Eco-Leadership in Practice: Future Challenges and Opportunities as Youth Advocates – Nala Amirah (Founder of Green Welfare Indonesia) explored the importance of green education to be infiltrated to primary and secondary students’ curriculum to empower students to act for the environment since early stage. The talk also discussed the evolving role of young environmental leaders, the skills required for impactful advocacy, and strategies to overcome barriers in policymaking and implementation.
- Keynote Speech #2 – From Inland Action to Ocean Impact: Small Action, Big Change for Our Planet – Gaku Shimamura (President of Pono Moana) emphasized how localized sustainability efforts, including clean-up events, waste reduction and community-driven initiatives, contribute to global environmental progress and ocean conservation.
- The 33 AJYELN Fellows from 8 ASEAN Member States and Japan delivered a dynamic panel discussion on the highlights and challenges of the AJYELN Fellows’ project implementation journeys and was moderated by Ms. Sarah Rauzana of ASEAN Youth Organization.
Ms. Sarah Rauzana, Chairperson of ASEAN Youth Organization moderated the session with the AJYELN fellows. Shown here are the three fellows from Malaysia as they share their experiences implementing their environmental projects.
These young leaders provided actionable insights on scaling youth-led initiatives, strengthening regional cooperation, and integrating grassroots solutions into national and international policies.
Region-wide Support and Cross-border Collaboration
This symposium a distinguished lineup of speakers and supporters of AJYELN. Mr. Mizutani Yoshihiro, Director of Marine Environment Division, Environmental Management Bureau, Japan Ministry of Environment and Mr. H.E. San Lwin, Deputy Secretary General for ASEAN Socio- Cultural Community (ASCC), ASEAN delivered Welcome and Opening Remarks respectively.
Additionally, AJYELN also received messages of support from Mr. Reo Kawamura, Director of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia-Regional Knowledge Center for Marine Plastic Debris (ERIA RKC-MPD), Ms. Sarah Rauzana, Chairperson of ASEAN Youth Organization, and Ms. Yoriko Ashimine, Vice President of Climate Youth Japan which at the same time marked the future collaboration for next fiscal year of AJYELN 2.0.
Since the first launch in 2023, AJYELN has been receiving tenacious support from the following ministries and organization: Brunei Ministry of Education STEP Centre, Cambodia Ministry of Environment, Indonesia Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Japan Ministry of Environment, Lao PDR Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Paving the Way for Sustainability
AJYELN is an ongoing commitment that has evolved from ASEAN-Japan Eco-School, which provided online lectures on marine plastic waste targeting elementary and secondary school students in selected ASEAN member states (AMS) and Japan in 2021-2022. Seeing the leadership potential among these young students, the AJYELN was developed as a nurturing ground for young leaders with a passion for the environment and committed to bring about change in their local communities. In 2023, 37 young fellows successfully implemented awareness campaigns in their local communities reaching out 8,000 people.
This year, with the theme of “Empowering the Youth in Tackling Marine Plastic Waste in ASEAN and Japan”, 33 champions from ASEAN and Japan have received intensive training and mentoring, equipping them with the skills to develop innovative solutions to environmental challenges, with a strong focus on plastic pollution and marine debris. Through a funding system facilitated by the ASEAN-Japan Centre, their initiatives have been successfully implemented within their communities, driving tangible impact in the fight against plastic waste.
A video recording of the Symposium can be found on the AJC YouTube channel.
The ASEAN-Japan Young Environmental Leaders Network2.0 will be recruiting its next cohort of changemakers committed to tackling marine plastic waste from April 2025.
For more information on the ASEAN-Japan Young Environmental Leaders’ Network (AJYELN), please see the official Facebook page and Instagram page.
