OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THE ASEAN-IPR REGIONAL STUDY ON YOUTH, PEACE AND SECURITY (YPS) IN ASEAN
28 August 2025
Jakarta, Indonesia/Videoconference
Following recommendations from the 2022 ASEAN-IPR & UN Workshop on Advancing Youth, Peace and Security in ASEAN, the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR) in partnership with the United Nations and Southeast Asian youth-led organisations and networks underwent a comprehensive regional study on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS Study) since 2023. After being finalised earlier this year, the “Regional Study on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) in ASEAN” was officially launched on 29 August 2025 in Jakarta, Indonesia as well as through virtual platform. The launch was organised by ASEAN-IPR, in collaboration with UN Women and the Griffith Asia Institute.
The Study provides an evidence-based and youth-centred approach of how young people across Southeast Asia are engaging in peacebuilding, including challenges they may have faced along the way. The Study affirmed that ASEAN youths are not only future leaders, but present-day actors who contribute to conflict prevention, social cohesion, and inclusive development. The Study’s Launch garnered seventy-nine (79) participants – who participated both in-person in Jakarta, or through virtual online platform.
“Since the Joint Declaration on Comprehensive Partnership between ASEAN and the UN (2021-2025), ASEAN has increased the engagement on the topic of Youth, Peace and Security (YPS). By promoting deeper cooperation with and among youth, ASEAN and its partners can effectively address emerging challenges to building and sustaining regional peace and security,” as highlighted by Mr. I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja, Executive Director of ASEAN-IPR. He also remarked that the YPS Study results “highlights the need for institutional support, capacity-building, and meaningful participation mechanisms that allow youth perspectives to be integrated into decision-making at both national and regional levels, specifically in the peace and security field.
“This Study represents a significant milestone in advancing the Youth, Peace and Security agenda, underscoring ASEAN's commitment to recognising young people not merely as beneficiaries, but as active agents of peacebuilding, security, and development across our region.” This was remarked by H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General (SG) of ASEAN. He further noted the recently adopted ASEAN Community Vision 2045: Our Shared Future, where he underlined that “by 2045, today’s youth will be in their leadership prime, and the choices we make now will define the trajectory of ASEAN’s mid-century future.” The SG of ASEAN also conveyed his proposed four critical areas to enhance meaningful youth involvement – including (1) creating opportunities for youth leadership; (2) addressing socio-economic needs; (3) investing in local foundations; and (4) ensuring intersectionality in youth programming.
As ASEAN-IPR’s partner in conducting the Study, the Launch was also co-officiated by the UN’s Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs – Department of Peace Operations, H.E. Khaled Khiari. “Since the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2250 in 2015, we have seen across the world that by encouraging youth to engage in politics and peace-making, governments can increase solidarity between different generations and rebuild trust in institutions. We have also seen that regional and national action plans on YPS are important instruments for ensuring the participation of youth and involving youth in decision-making about their futures,” he remarked during the Launch.
The YPS Study provides a crucial baseline for action in advancing the YPS agenda in ASEAN. It affirms that youth must be recognised as partners in shaping peace and security, not just as beneficiaries. Bringing together leaders, partners, and youth voices, the launch served as a reminder that peace is not an abstract vision, but a shared responsibility shaped by the region’s young people today.
Presenting the study on behalf of the Research Team was Ms. Erika Isabel Bulan Yague. She conveyed the objectives/purpose of the Study, methodology, key findings and takeaways, notable challenges and opportunities, as well as recommendations – whether for ASEAN (including ASEAN bodies/centres/entities/institutions), ASEAN Member States, International Partners and civil society organisations (namely those which are youth-oriented).
The launch event is also made possible with the generous support from the Governments of Canada, Republic of Korea and United Kingdom, we hope this study will enrich ongoing discourse and encourage greater youth participation in peacebuilding efforts throughout ASEAN.
Access the full Regional Study on YPS in ASEAN here: https://asean-aipr.org/resources/publications/asean-ipr-regional-study-on-youth-peace-and-security-yps-
Also, stay connected to ASEAN-IPR and our activities, including how you could participate in the region’s peacebuilding efforts, by tuning to our website as well as following our social media platforms.