The 4^th Asia and the Pacific Youth Symposium (APYS4) is a social dialogue exchange that convenes governments, non-government organizations, youth, and other key stakeholders in development to discuss major and emerging climate issues in the region. These meaningful discussions ultimately revolve around the region’s collective efforts to equip youth with the skills to access and create green jobs, encourage youth engagement in policy decisions and making processes, and for young women and girls to shape the Just Transition.

Building on the knowledge and learnings from previous youth events and programming, APYS4 will feature a fully online program composed of workshops and dialogues, which will culminate through the drafting of a Youth Agenda, bringing forward youth voices to the 57^th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board of Governors (AM57) in Tbilisi, Georgia.

A fully online APYS event was designed to remove barriers to entry, allow for simultaneous translation into multiple languages, and reduce safeguarding risks, facilitating participation from a wide range of Asia and the Pacific youth and creating a safe space for intergenerational dialogue between youth and adult stakeholders from diverse backgrounds.

APYS4 was also meant to provide opportunities for networking among ADB staff, government representatives, the private sector, the academe and think tanks, civil society, and youth-led or youth-centered organizations as well as fostering their collaboration on shared visions.

Objectives

• Illustrate and consolidate the contribution of youth to innovative solutions for tackling climate change, including mobilizing climate financing, aligned with the first and third shifts of the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) new operating model.
• Ensure inclusivity in our symposium by actively promoting the participation of diverse youth groups, including those from marginalized and underrepresented communities, to foster a rich exchange of perspectives and ideas.
• Build the capacity of youth networks to engage with future challenges and develop the Youth Agenda further into an actionable strategy. This will further empower youth voices to effectively present their insights at the ADB’s upcoming Annual Meeting in Georgia.
• Provide a multifaceted networking opportunity that bridges generations, sectors, and countries, while also offering youth a tangible chance to collaborate directly with international organizations and CSOs. This will also facilitate an impactful exchange of ideas, experiences, and best practices, further empowering youth to contribute effectively to societal and environmental solutions.       

Your APYS4 Journey

●      APYS Knowledge Workshops: To showcase the development of youth-led initiatives in thematic areas, APYS will be conducting knowledge sessions to provide a better understanding of how youth are innovating around climate change.

●      Youth Agenda: To provide recommendations to different stakeholders on what youth envisions as we fight climate change. Through insights gathered from these workshops, a youth agenda within three (3) topics related to the Role of Young Women in Just Transition, Climate Activism and Civic Spaces, and Green Skills will be developed to be shared with key actors in development (i.e., government, regional bodies, CSOs) during AM57.

●      Capacity building: To provide participants with an immersive platform for climate advocacy, offering avenues for acquiring expertise in policy formulation, strategic advocacy, community mobilization, entrepreneurial innovation in adaptation, collaborative networking, meticulous monitoring, and cultural sensitivity.

●      Youth Giving Back to Youth during the ADB Annual Meeting: To provide a space for intergenerational dialogue, youth ambassadors are invited as resource speakers and correspondents in the digital space for other youth. Through their unique approach and command of the digital space, youth will utilize social media to streamline and share access to discussions on key development issues to foster a wider discussion across the region.

Participants

Watch APYS4 on demand here