A non-profit organization focused on peacebuilding and sustainability efforts in conflict areas of Southeast Asia through youth-led incubator and leadership programs. ASEAN Peace Project is a non-profit organization focused on designing and implementing youth-led incubator and leadership programs to support peace-building and environmental protections efforts for conflict-affected communities in t
he Southeast Asian region. It was co-founded by four young individuals from the Philippines during their academic fellowship with President Barack Obama’s Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative in the United States focused on global environmental issues at the Honolulu-based East-West Center. On its first year, the organization started out as a start-up accelerator for aspiring social entrepreneurs who gained skills and experiences through a series of capacity-building workshops, lectures, and training sessions. Department of State, East-West Center and International Republican Institute. The organization launched environmental awareness and peace-oriented social entrepreneurship programs for young people from two areas known for violent political unrest – Mindanao in the Philippines and Southern Thailand. Standout participant projects included a heat stress analyzer to help farmers improve crop growth and a test-preparation tutoring program to bridge the educational gap for high school students in conflict-affected areas. In addition, ASEAN Peace Project previously worked with the Habitat for Humanity and developed a policy and lobbying simulation program for Mindanao young leaders with potential to take an active role in shaping the urban and housing governance agendas of their communities. For this year, the organization will bring together young peace advocates from across Southeast Asia to tackle conflict and climate issues and implement community-based disaster risk reduction accelerator programs with support from the East-West Center, Cultural Vistas and U.S. Mission to ASEAN under the 2016–17 YSEALI Seeds for the Future Program. ASEAN Peace Project’s main goal is to foster peaceful and resilient communities, and for the young change-makers from Southeast Asia’s conflict-stricken areas particularly, our organization provides an opportunity for them be the region’s bright spot.
