More information on the history of ASEAN and youth in ASEAN can be found at the Youth@ASEAN homepage.

Some major ASEAN initiatives that the NYC facilitates include:

1. Workshops on Manpower Development & E-Services and Policy Development

The workshops on Manpower Development & E-Services and Policy Development for Indonesian youth leaders and youth officials arose out of a study visit by NYC to Indonesia in October 2002.

Since 2003, NYC has organised and funded three such workshops. The purpose of the workshops was to share with Indonesian youth leaders on Singapore ’s experience in manpower development, policy development and governance. The workshop programme includes lectures, case-studies and institutional visits to facilitate discussions and learning.

The first workshop on Manpower Development and E-Services was held from 14 to 17 October 2003 at the Civil Service College in Singapore for 18 Indonesian youth leaders. A second workshop was organised from 20 to 25 June 2004 for 32 Indonesian youth officials from the Directorate of Youth Affairs and provinces in Indonesia at the Civil Service College. The delegation was led by Mr Sudrajat Rasyid, Director of Youth Affairs at the Ministry of National Education.

Another workshop focusing on policy development was organised in Jakarta , Indonesia for 20 youth leaders from the provincial districts in Indonesia from 15 to 16 January 2004 . All three workshops were conducted by the Civil Service College International (CSCI).

2. Singapore-Malaysia Youth Camp

The Singapore-Malaysia Youth Camp was initiated in 1991 after Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong’s visit to Malaysia , to strengthen bilateral relations and promote friendship and mutual understanding among Singaporean and Malaysia youths.

The programme is a joint project between NYC and the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Malaysia . Each year, 40 youths from each country attend the programme which features highlights such as games, institutional visits and sight-seeing tours. Each exchange births fresh understanding and resolution for co-operation among the participating youths of the two countries.

Singapore played host to the 10th Singapore-Malaysia Youth Camp from 30 June to 8 July 2005 at the National Community Leadership Institute (NACLI) and Outward Bound Singapore (OBS), with 80 youths participating in the programme.

Malaysia will be hosting the 11th Malaysia-Singapore Youth Camp in 2006.

3. Asean + 3 Urban Youth Work Seminar 2005 - Youth.Net: Developing Cyber Wellness

The rapid rate at which social changes have been taking place in the last few decades with the rise of globalisation and the advent of the IT revolution all have had implications on today's youth. It is thus imperative for urban youth workers to be aware and equipped to handle such issues.

The Seminar on Urban Youth Work provides an avenue for youth workers and social workers of member countries to exchange ideas on how to meet urban youths’ needs, and enables participants to study and discuss the various alternative approaches and strategies that may be adopted.

In conjunction with the ASEAN + 3 Urban Youth Work Seminar 2005, the “Youth.Net: Developing Cyber Wellness” conference was held from 26 to 27 July 2005, at the Orchard Hotel, Singapore. The Guest-of-Honour for the conference was Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs, and Chairman of the Inter-Ministry Committee on Youth Crime (IMYC).

This conference aims to provide an avenue for participants to be informed about the latest cyber trends and socio-emotional impact on youth with the rise of the Internet, as well as be educated on safe practices.

Designed to serve as a common platform for foreign and local participants to network and share expertise, some 250 youth workers, youth leaders and social workers from the ASEAN countries, China and Japan attended the conference. International and local speakers were also present to share on cyber wellness issues and current youth trends. The delegates from ASEAN, China and Japan also presented country papers on the state of youth work and Internet in their respective countries.

For more information about the conference, please visit the IMYC website at http://www.imyc.org.sg.