Tuning Up Southeast Asian Youth Voices: Reconceptualizing Meaningful Youth Participation
Danielle M. Noche
Meaningful youth participation is a cornerstone of effective governance. When youths are actively included in policy spaces, they bring fresh and diverse perspectives that enhance and shape more effective decision-making (UNICEF, 2024). Across Southeast Asia, youths are already driving change, organizing community initiatives, advocating for human rights and peace, and co-developing responses to environmental crises. With the growing access to a digital and hyper-connected world and a strong grasp of evolving social realities and dynamics, youths today are shaping their futures with ambition and adaptability (Vero, 2021). However, despite their eagerness and readiness to participate, youths continue to face significant barriers that hinder their meaningful involvement.
The Global Youth Participation Index (GYPI) reinforces this sobering truth, revealing that while youth around the world are willing to engage, the systems intended to include them are failing to do so effectively (GYPI – Key Findings, 2025). According to the Global Youth Participation Index (GYPI), the global average score stands at just 61 out of 100, a figure that reflects the ongoing struggle of youths to fully participate in society (Global Youth Participation Index, n.d.). While a few countries in Southeast Asia show promising levels of youth engagement, the overall picture reveals persistent challenges across the region. Timor-Leste leads with a score of 68, followed closely by Indonesia (66), the Philippines (65), and Malaysia (63) (Global Youth Participation Index, n.d.). Meanwhile, countries like Cambodia (46), Vietnam (53), and especially Myanmar (41) score significantly lower, highlighting major gaps in supporting young people’s civic, political, and economic participation (Global Youth Participation Index, n.d.). Notably, data for Brunei and Laos remains unavailable, underscoring another significant challenge on lack of transparency or accessible metrics for youth participation in some countries.
Among the significant barriers faced by youths are cultural norms and aged-based hierarchies. For example, in the Philippines, Filipino youths are often guided by traditional values that have been passed down through generations, this includes respect for elders. The deference to older family members is not just encouraged but is expected (Redillas, 2024). However, this expectation is not only limited to the home, but also extends to schools, workplaces, and crucially, decision-making spaces. Growing up in the Philippines, I often heard phrases like “Huwag kang sumagot sa nakakatanda” (Don’t talk back to elders) and “Wala ka pang alam” (You don’t know anything yet). Over time, I realized that these seemingly harmless phrases shaped how young people like me are expected to remain silent. These phrases became a noise for me to be quiet, and it took me quite some time to muster the courage to speak up, especially to people older than me.
Despite the growing engagement of youths, politics and decision-making remain largely reserved for seasoned policymakers, with young people often dismissed as too inexperienced or worse, labeled as naïve by senior officials (Djorina Velasco, n.d.). This dismissal of youth voices reflects challenges in policymaking spaces like ASEAN, where institutional resistance fueled by deeply rooted hierarchies and vested interests frequently hinder progressive change (Tran et al., 2024). Filipino youths represent a powerful and growing demographic. Over 42% of the country’s population are youths under 18 and are poised to become influential participants in shaping the country’s democratic future (International IDEA, 2020). Historically, Filipino youths have found alternative ways to political participation, student and street activism, volunteerism, and social media campaigns (International IDEA, 2020). Despite their enthusiasm, youths face structural barriers to influence, with limited representation in political spaces (only 6% of legislators are under 30) and real power remains concentrated among older elites (Key Points on Philippines, 2025). Unfortunately, formal avenues like the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) or youth councils and the Katipunan ng Kabataan (KK) or youth assemblies continue to face an uphill battle in promoting meaningful youth participation, as reforms to improve its operations and empower youth officers remain largely unfulfilled, and mechanisms to effectively encourage civic engagement like civic education are still inadequately implemented (International IDEA, 2020; Ingalla, 2023).
Southeast Asian youths are not passive observers of change, we are the agents of change. We are organizers, advocates, creators, and leaders. And for our full potential to be realized, systems in place must evolve genuinely to address the systematic barriers that hinders our meaningful participation particularly in decision making processes where our voices are most needed. Governments, institutions, and civil society must recognize that not all youth participation is inherently meaningful. Youths being present in the room is not the same as having our voice heard and valued. With this, we must reconceptualize meaningful youth participation, not as symbolic inclusion, but as active, empowered, and sustained engagement in shaping and influencing our present and future. It’s time for us to tune up the voices of youth that have always been there waiting to be heard.
References
Djorina Velasco. (n.d.). Youth and Politics in Southeast Asia. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/philippinen/04526/yp_02_prelims_introduction.pdf
Global Youth Participation Index. (n.d.). Global Youth Participation Index. https://gypi.epd.eu/
GYPI – Key Findings. (2025, June 10). GYPI – Key Findings. https://gypi.epd.eu/articles/gypi-key-findings
Ingalla, S. M. (2023, October 14). Sangguniang Kabataan’s uphill battle for genuine youth participation. Philippine Collegian. https://phkule.org/article/995/sangguniang-kabataans-uphill-battle-for-genuine-youth-participation
International IDEA. (2020, December 8). Democracy Talks in Manila – The role of Youth Voices in Philippine Democracy | International IDEA. https://www.idea.int/events/democracy-talks-manila-role-youth-voices-philippine-democracy
Key points on Philippines. (2025). Global Youth Participation Index. https://gypi.epd.eu/country-reports/ph
Redillas, M. (2024, September 29). Bridging generational gaps in Filipino families. Mariaisquixotic. https://mariaisquixotic.com/generational-gaps-filipino-families/
Tran, M., Fithriyyah, Mallorca, K., & Han, H. (2024, November 1). Speaking truth to power: the journey of youth in bolstering environmental rights in Southeast Asia. SEI. https://www.sei.org/perspectives/speaking-truth-to-power-youth-bolstering-environmental-rights-southeast-asia/
UNICEF. (2024). Meaningful Youth Engagement in the Multilateral System. https://www.unicef.org/innocenti/media/9701/file/UNICEF-Innocenti-Meaningful-Youth-Engagement-2024.pdf
Vero. (2021, November 21). Empowering Southeast Asia’s Youth Through Policy Change. https://vero-asean.com/whitepaper/empowering-southeast-asia-youth-through-policy-change/
