Thai activist joins peers about the EU’s advanced education system

A renowned Thai youth activist has been selected to join the Youth Sounding Board for the European Union in ASEAN (YSBEA) for the 2024 to 2025 period, after a lifelong commitment to transforming Thailand’s education system to be more accessible for the country’s younger generations.

Comprising youth leaders from 10 ASEAN Member States and Timor-Leste, the YSBEA is expected to boost young people’s engagement in EU-ASEAN cooperation by serving as a youth advisory group to the EU Delegation. The Ambassador of the European Union to ASEAN, H.E. Sujiro Seam views the event as an opportunity to acknowledge achievements in leadership among youths, and to encourage their growth as crucial drivers of change moving forward.

“The selection of YSBEA members is an acknowledgement of their outstanding leadership qualities and impressive achievements. YSBEA will provide a consultative space and platform for the youth to strengthen the European Union’s strategic partnership with ASEAN. YSBEA participation will make the actions of the European Union more relevant and effective for young people.

“Younger generations make up a third of the population of the ASEAN region. Young people are change-makers and essential partners in ensuring the success of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change. Youths have an important role to play in deciding the future of this region: to build a better future that is greener, more inclusive, and digital. YSBEA member’s participation reflects their testament and commitment to make a difference.’’

During a courtesy call with the YSBEA members, Deputy Secretary-General (DSG) of ASEAN for Community and Corporate Affairs of ASEAN, Nararya S. Soeprapto highlighted the pivotal role of the youth in contributing to the achievement of key development goals within the region, noting that the ASEAN youth population accounted for around 34% of the overall population in 2020 and is projected to peak in 2038.

He emphasised that ASEAN recognises the crucial role of youth as key drivers of growth, as reflected in the ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on the Development of the ASEAN Community’s Post-2025 Vision. This statement, adopted by ASEAN Leaders at the 42nd ASEAN Summit in May 2023, underscores the importance of empowering youth to actively participate in shaping the future of the region.

What is Thailand’s talent landscape like?

According to the Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD), Thailand’s talent landscape showed no improvement in 2023, maintaining its 45th rank from 2022, which had already fallen from 43rd in 2021.

The IMD’s evaluation of talent competitiveness covered 64 economies and considered factors such as total public spending on education and the pupil-teacher ratio in primary and secondary education, areas in which Thailand saw declines in the latest survey. Of the top 12 countries with the highest talent readiness, the majority are European. Looking back on his previous participation in the YSBA, the 23 year old Thai activist, Narubet Rakwijit, expresses his excitement about the positive implications of the event.

“Through my participation in YSBEA, I am looking forward to sharing my experience, exchanging views, creating discourses and seeking solutions with fellow youths from other ASEAN countries and also from the EU that has developed long-term strategies to build advanced educational frameworks. I believe that this will benefit my country, Thailand, and ASEAN as a region.”

The Youth Sounding Board is expected to contribute to EU external actions and international partnerships, focusing on political priorities such as climate change and human development. Through the end of 2025, these selected cohorts will engage in a series of online and offline consultations with the Delegation of the European Union to ASEAN on youth-related policies.

Globally, YSBEA is among 30 Youth Sounding Board groups established by other EU Delegations worldwide that are part of the Youth Action Plan (YAP) for EU external action. The YAP serves as the EU’s guiding framework to promote meaningful youth participation and empowerment globally for sustainable development, equality and peace.

Focusing on three core areas of action: Engage, Connect and Empower. The YAP is a timely endeavour to engage young people in EU external actions.

Press Release