What could you do for your community if you had the funds and mentorship to make it happen? That was the call to action for 2017’s Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Seeds for the Future grantees. And all 20 responded by pulling off projects that not only impacted their local areas—they affected the ASEAN community as a whole.
I climbed aboard the USS Enterprise as a child living in Singapore, when the ship and its crew refueled in the newly-independent nation’s outer harbor before heading back to support the conflict in Vietnam. I had ‘a clue’ about the conflict because my parents insisted on making sure my older siblings and I were aware of our surroundings, and, well, Southeast Asia was a theater of warfare. Now, this region – the ASEAN region – is locked in a tug-of-war between China and the United States, both nations seeking to win the hearts and pocketbooks of its 625 million inhabitants,…
Sixty-five percent of Southeast Asia’s population is under the age of 35. This makes it crucial to empower the region’s youth to invest in and make changes in their communities. Enter: The Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Seeds For the Future Grants Competition. The 2017 grantees, each receiving grants ranging from $8,300 to $15,000, were selected from a competitive pool of nearly 400 applications. Their projects are as diverse as the Southeast Asian region itself, covering all 10 ASEAN members states and topics ranging from food insecurity to training special education teachers. But they share a common goal: to positively…
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The region of Southeast Asia is one of the most diverse regions in the world. It is comprised of rich multiculturalism, varying economies, differing societal values, and contrasting political structures. In 1967, five leaders–the Foreign Ministers from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand–met with the intention of uniting the countries of Southeast Asia. They signed a document to form the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). ASEAN challenged its citizens to embrace a regional identity and organize around a collective vision that aimed to promote economic development and social progress in the region. The question today is: do the citizens…
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On Earth Day, it is easy to be overwhelmed by all the difficult environmental problems facing the world. Each day there are new reports of melting icecaps, illegal logging, animal extinction, and rising sea levels. The list goes on. Instead, we challenge you to make a difference by drawing inspiration from some Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) participants that are making a difference.