Towards the ASEAN Day celebration on August 8, 2025, Maybank Foundation and ASEAN Foundation welcomed 100 young volunteers and representatives from 10 social organizations (CSOs) and social enterprises across Southeast Asia at the opening event of the Latest Regional Capacity Enhancement Workshop on empowering young people in the ASEAN region (eYAA): Course 5, held at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand.
Taking place from July 20-23, the workshop gathered enthusiastic young people and accompanying CSO/social enterprises to complete 10 community projects that will soon be implemented in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, the latest country participating in the program.
Based on the online training program, the four-day regional conference plays an important role in helping students complete their community projects, learn from experts and alumni, and enhance collaborative skills, creating a foundation for practical and sustainable impacts in the communities they will serve.
10 community projects designed to reflect local needs in ASEAN countries were selected and focused on four main areas: community building, art and culture, environmental diversity and education. Each group will receive support of up to 25,000 USD and local CSO organizations and social enterprises will play an important role in ensuring the success of the projects.
A typical example is the volunteer youth of Course 5 who will participate in the Nurturing Dreams from Forest project of ABG Leadership Institute in Pu Mat National Park, Nghe An province, Vietnam.
This initiative solves the long-standing difficulties in education and socio-economics that local schools face, especially the two Primary Schools of Mon Son in Co Phat and Bung communes, which are facing difficulties due to limited access to digital tools, outdated teaching methods and inadequate teacher training.
To narrow this gap, the project enhances digital education and the environment by providing fully equipped computer rooms with 25 computers per room, training on artificial intelligence and digital safety for teachers, and organizing wildlife conservation seminars in English.
Based on previous efforts in providing laptops and training in information technology, this expansion program brings direct benefits to 300 students, 50 teachers and 15 stakeholders in the locality, and is expected to have an indirect impact on about 150 other subjects through the school community and parents.
The project strengthens integration education, empowers local teachers and fosters environmental awareness among the young generation in one of the most important ecological areas of Vietnam.
