Student Leaders of ASEAN Countries and Japan Leading the Way Against Marine Plastic Waste and Towards a Sustainable Tomorrow “The ASEAN-Japan Young Environmental Leaders’ Network (AJYELN) Launch Ceremony”

Online from 3pm JST on September 21, 2023

TOKYO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC) will hold the ASEAN-Japan Young Environmental Leaders’ Network (AJYELN) Launch Ceremony on Thursday, September 21, 15:00-16:30 (JST). The launch will officially introduce the 37 young fellows who were competitively selected among hundreds of applicants from all ASEAN Member States and Japan. The AJYELN fellows will present their respective projects that address plastic pollution issues in their local communities.

The Opening Remarks will be given by the Ministry of Environment, Japan, and the Welcome Remarks will be coming from the ASEAN Secretariat. A Keynote Speech will be delivered by Mr. Robin Takashi Lewis of myMizu and Social Innovation Japan, and a Message of Support will be shared by Mr. Senjaya Mulia of ASEAN Youth Organization and AYO Social Enterprise.

AJYELN is the first of a multi-year program of the AJC that aims to recruit and train young environmental leaders aged 15-25 years old. AJYELN unites belief in youth-driven environmental advocacy and leadership for a sustainable future. More importantly, it sees the need to connect individuals, families, and communities to drive collective action for proper waste management and a circular economy. The project is part of the AJC’s larger program, Sustainable Blue Seas and Green Planet, which aims to support the implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and particularly the ASEAN Regional Action Plan for Combating Marine Debris in ASEAN (2021-2025).

Since 2020, the AJC has launched programs addressing marine plastic waste and greenhouse gas emissions in ASEAN and Japan. These initiatives create and enhance movements to raise awareness among children and young people. In 2020, the AJC collaborated with 22 ASEAN and Japanese students, or “fellows,” to create the “Future Leaders’ Declaration on ASEAN-Japan Cooperation for International Marine Plastic Waste.” Following this, the “ASEAN-Hiroshima Eco-School for Marine Plastic Waste Education” and “ASEAN-Japan Eco-School for Marine Plastic Waste” were conducted, implementing the fellows’ recommendations in the Declaration. By 2022, the Eco-School program had reached over 12,500 elementary and high school students in ASEAN Member States and Japan. These online lectures, delivered in local languages, covered proper plastic use and disposal, as well as behavioral practices to reduce the volume of plastics in the ocean.

The AJC cooperated with the following organizations to implement the AJYELN project: ASEAN Youth Organization; East Asia Regional Knowledge Center for Marine Plastic Debris (ERIA-RKCMPD) in Jakarta; the Science, Technology and Environment Partnership (STEP) Centre, Ministry of Education, Brunei Darussalam; Ministry of Environment, Cambodia; Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Lao PDR; Ministry of Environment, Japan; Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippines; and the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change, Malaysia.

Registration for the ceremony is now open and free of charge but limited to 1000 slots on a first-come, first-served basis.

Date and Time: 21 September 2023 | 15:00–16:30 (JST)

Venue: Online

Language: English

Registration: Free

Target: Elementary and High School students and teachers in ASEAN countries and Japan; anyone interested in marine plastic issues.

For details of the event including the program and registration, please see the AJC Website

https://www.asean.or.jp/en/centre-wide-info/20230913/

For more information on the ASEAN-Japan Young Environmental Leaders’ Network (AJYELN), please see the official Facebook page and Instagram page.

Contacts

ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC) PR Unit

Tomoko Miyauchi (MS)

URL: https://www.asean.or.jp/en/
TEL: +81 (0)3-5402-8118

Email: toiawase_ga@asean.or.jp