Fifth East Asian Seas Youth Forum: a call for young ocean leaders

Young Champions from the 2015 EAS Youth Forum commit to environment-friendly practices for sustainable oceans and seas. (PEMSEA)

 

Calling all youth! We need all hands on deck to collectively achieve the global ocean targets, and youth have a critical part to play. The experience of the East Asian Seas region for the past 25 years has shown that true sustainable development is only possible with integrated and multi-stakeholder cooperation.

 

Youth engagement supporting the sustainability of coasts and oceans has been a critical part of this journey. Youth continue to prove themselves active and dynamic agents, bringing bright ideas, powerful resolve, and the will to facilitate change by shaping the future they want.

 

With this in mind, the East Asian Seas (EAS) Congress 2018 Secretariat calls for youth applicants to join the Fifth EAS Youth Forum (YF5) to be held at the Iloilo Convention Center, Iloilo, Philippines, on November 27-30, 2018.

 

Launched at the EAS Congress 2006, and now entering its fifth session, the YF5 is a key event of the EAS Congress, serving as a platform for young leaders in the region to get involved in coastal and ocean sustainability. Over the past decade, EAS Youth Forums have engaged and enabled over 200 youth, strengthening their capacity to deliver solutions for sustainable development of coasts and oceans in East Asia.

 

The theme for the Fifth EAS Youth Forum, “Moving as One with the Global Agenda: Active and Engaged Youth in the EAS Region”, invites young leaders in the region to take an active role in driving the sustainable development agenda for coasts and oceans in the region. The event offers youth an opportunity to develop their skills and grow as ocean professionals, young leaders, and future integrated coastal management (ICM) practitioners.

 

Apart from peer-to-peer learning discussions, team building activities and creative workshops, YF5 will launch the EAS Youth Programme that will provide a more sustainable platform for youth engagement on coastal and ocean development efforts in the region. Young leaders will also have opportunity to interact and engage, not only with each other, but with global leaders and professionals in coastal and ocean management.

 

EAS YF5 is open to youth from countries of the East Asian region: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, PR China, DPR Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, RO Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Viet Nam. Applicants should be 18-25 years of age, a university or graduate student, young professional or active member of a youth organization or institution working in the field of sustainable development.

 

More information, as well as application guidelines and forms, are available on request. The deadline for applications is 31 May 2018.

 

Make the youth voice count in shaping the future of our shared seas, by becoming a YF5 delegate!

 

For more information about the Fifth EAS Youth Forum, please contact either the EAS Congress Secretariat at eascongress2018@pemsea.org or the Youth Forum Coordinator, Mr. Michael Villanueva, at mvillanueva@pemsea.