Over 70 university students from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member-states joined the 1st ASEAN Youth Connect, hosted by Carlos Hilado Memorial State University (CHMSU) recently.
Organized by the BASS 1A and 1B (Asian Studies) classes under CHMSU’s BA in Social Science Program, the event connected the young Southeast Asian students onsite and virtually for an afternoon of group presentations, cultural exchanges, and collaborative discussions on youth action for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In collaboration with the Center for Internationalization and External Relations (CIER) and the College of Arts and Sciences, the 1st ASEAN Youth Connect June 12 also served as the final examination of the BASS first-year students under course instructor and CIER director Rhoderick Samonte.
The event featured university students from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Singapore, and Vietnam.
The discussions centered on the significance of the 17 United Nations SDGs, the issue of poverty in the region, and various socio-political challenges, including those affecting Myanmar and the Philippines.
The participating Southeast Asian youth later expressed their commitment to continued collaboration beyond the event, guided by the shared vision of advancing the SDGs, the CHMSU said in a press release June 24.
Among the universities in the region represented were the University of Brunei Darussalam, Royal University of Phnom Pehn in Cambodia, Bina Nusantara University in Indonesia, National university of Laos, University Malaya of Malaysia, Myanmar Noble University, Chulalongkorn University of Thailand, Dili Institute of Technology in Timor Leste, University of Singapore, and Hanoi National University of Education in Vietnam. ||
