SMF 2025 Regional Roundtable Unites Southeast Asian Youth Activists in Bangkok

On 3/11, Vietnam Rise held the SMF 2025 Regional Roundtable in Bangkok. We welcomed over 30 lawyers, funders, NGOs/CSOs and youth movement leaders from Southeast Asia. Participants included two Nepalese youth activists who shared their experiences in the recent Gen Z movement.

The event featured a panel discussion among three youth activists from Malaysia, Nepal and Myanmar. They shared their personal journeys into activism and how they handle the ever-changing environments in their respective countries. All three speakers focused on the importance of resilience to negative pressure, awareness of colonialist narratives, and stamping out destructive in-fighting that can play out within movements.

Participants mapped youth movements’ current strengths and challenges in order to create a path into the future. Common strengths were the passion, resilience and cohesiveness of activists. Shared challenges included censorious governments, internal divisions over ideology and lack of funding. Solutions for making future activism included learning to embrace diversity, sharing a database of tools and building a community of global changemakers.

This event is only the beginning of regional conversations and collaborations. We appreciate all who participated and shared their insights and hope to see you all again. A huge thank you to our co-organisers CALD Youth and CSO Academy.

Vietnam Rise

Change Within Reach.