– Ranjeeta Silwal, Programme Manager, ARROW

The APFSD Youth Forum 2025

The APFSD Youth Forum 2025 took place in Bangkok from 19-21 February 2025. The Youth Forum convened over 540 young advocates and changemakers from across the Asia-Pacific region. The Youth Forum was more than just a prelude to the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) 2025. It was a bold statement of youth agency and leadership.

As a co-convener, I had the privilege of witnessing firsthand the young advocates unite with a shared vision and commitment to sustainable development, and human rights. It was a potent reminder that young people are not merely future stakeholders, but active architects to drive change today.

The Youth Forum was designed as an inclusive and action-oriented space where young leaders could engage meaningfully in policy discussions and shape the agenda for change. This year’s theme, “Advancing Sustainable, Inclusive, Science- and Evidence-Based Solutions for the 2030 Agenda and Its SDGs: Leaving No Young Person Behind in Asia and the Pacific,” set the stage for deep, solution-focused conversations.

Through interactive plenaries, breakout discussions, and strategic sessions, participants engaged with five key sustainable development goals (SDG)— SDG 3 (health and well-being), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), SDG 14 (life below water), and SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals). This approach brought a strong youth engagement perspective.

The forum provided a crucial platform to share regional challenges, best practices, and youth-led innovations. From climate resilience and digital rights to gender justice and health equity, we could see how the diverse experiences of young advocates enriched the discourse and strengthened regional solidarity.

The Outcome – Call to Action

A crucial outcome of the Forum was the Asia-Pacific Youth Call to Action 2025, a comprehensive document reflecting the collective demands and aspirations of the region’s youth.

This Call to Action serves as a strategic advocacy tool, guiding the youth in engaging with national governments and regional bodies to ensure youth-centric perspectives are integrated into sustainable development policies.

Beyond the regional Call to Action, participants also developed national and sub-regional Call to Actions tailored to their specific contexts. These localised Call to Action documents empower youth advocates to address unique challenges within their countries through  dialogues with policymakers and stakeholders. The process of drafting these documents not only unified participants but also equipped them with concrete strategies to influence policy at multiple levels.

The momentum from the Youth Forum carried into the Asia-Pacific People’s Forum on Sustainable Development (APPFSD) and then to the APFSD, where young delegates actively participated in high-level discussions, side events, and networking sessions. ARROW played a key role in supporting youth participation, ensuring they had the resources and opportunities to engage fully in the regional SDG review process.

A significant achievement was the inclusion of youth priorities and statements in official APFSD dialogues. The forum was not just a space for discussion; it became a platform for young advocates to take centre stage in critical conversations with policymakers, UN agencies, and civil society organizations.

Youth representatives made interventions during plenary discussions, provided policy recommendations, and held bilateral meetings with decision-makers to push for greater accountability and action. Their presence and advocacy efforts ensured that youth were not merely participants but key influencers in shaping the region’s sustainable development agenda.

The APFSD – My Key Takeaways

One of my key takeaways from this experience is that youth engagement must be continuous, sustained, and integrated into decision-making structures. The APFSD Youth Forum 2025 reaffirmed the importance of capacity-building, coalition-building, and intergenerational collaboration to ensure that young advocates continue driving change long after the event concludes.

Moving forward, we must establish more institutionalised mechanisms for youth participation in regional and global processes. Youth voices should not fade into the background once the forum ends; they must remain central to the conversations shaping our shared future.

As I reflect on this journey, I am deeply inspired by the resilience, passion, and commitment of young advocates and changemakers who are not just demanding change but actively leading it. The APFSD Youth Forum 2025 was a powerful reminder that young people are not only the future—they are the present, and their voices must be at the heart of every decision shaping our world.