HÀ NỘI — The Dialogue Forum on Youth and 2020 ASEAN Community took place online on Tuesday to discuss youth development policies and related trends and issues facing ASEAN member states.

Organised by Việt Nam’s Ministry of Home Affairs, the forum gathered representatives from ASEAN state agencies in charge of young persons' affairs and the ASEAN Secretariat.

In his opening speech, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Trần Anh Tuấn said Việt Nam and other ASEAN member nations highly valued the role of the youth in building, integrating and connecting the ASEAN Community, saying they were important human resources, particularly in enhancing solidarity and friendship regionally and globally.

This was the third time Việt Nam had organised the forum since 2011, he said, aiming to promote the role and creativity of young people in addressing national and regional issues and to propose ideas and policies to boost living standards of the youth and all people in the ASEAN Community as a whole. The forum also created an opportunity for exchanges on culture and policy-making, and sharing experience between participants.

Rodora T. Babaran, director of Human Development at the ASEAN Secretariat’s ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Department, praised Việt Nam’s efforts for holding the forum amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Babaran said young people played an important role in the ASEAN Community and were a priority for legislation in the bloc and its member states.

ASEAN is home to 220 million young people, who account for one-third of its population. The bloc recently built a youth action plan for 2021-2025 and a youth development index.

Babaran suggested policies be issued that encourage youth start-ups in different sectors, adding that increasing young people’s engagement in socio-economic matters and raising their awareness about ASEAN were also needed.

Participants discussed members’ current situations regarding building and implementing policies regarding the youth in terms of education and training, healthcare, start-ups and job creation, and volunteer work.

They took the occasion to share experience in handling youth-related issues and made recommendations on ensuring the rights and interests of young people in the region and to optimise their participation in tackling socio-economic matters. — VNS