Ms Leonie Nagarajan, Director, Education Department of ASEF
Mr Alvin:
Thank you very much for the opportunity to conduct an interview, Leonie. During the opening session you mentioned that the previous three ASEFYLS editions were different compared to this 4th edition. Could you please explain briefly why and how ASEFYLS4 is different this year?
Ms Leonie:
Due to the pandemic the 4th edition of ASEFYLS is taking place online and is therefore completely different from the previous three editions. The first ASEFYLS was a face-to-face meeting, which we organised next to the ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Luxembourg in 2015. The youth conference itself was for three to four days and included many debates and discussions. By the end of the summit we held a Call for Action.
The second ASEFYLS was held in South Korea on the side of the Economic Ministers’ Meeting in September 2017. For the third edition in Brussels in October 2018, we engaged young people not only theoretically but also in practice. In my opinion, being a leader is not only about sharing your vision. You also need to lead, guide and demonstrate that you are actively pursuing your idea. Hence, we designed the ASEFYLS4 as a 10-month long leadership journey. The programme included a number of journey phases, included a Knowledge Building Phase, a Leadership in Action Phase and a virtual ASEFYLS4 Summit Conference.
Leadership is supposed to be a transformative process, and transformation only takes place when you get inspired. Then you are able to test, implement, and grow throughout the process.
Mr Alvin:
Do you think that the pandemic became a challenge for ASEF in organising this project? Or on the contrary, is it an opportunity for ASEF to innovate?
Ms Leonie:
The original project plan was very different. Initially, we wanted to focus on leadership and technology as a follow-up from the ASEFYLS4 in Brussels, which addressed the topic of ethical leadership, with leadership and technology as a sub-theme.
Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to adjust and make changes to our original plans. We wanted to create a programme where we tackle issues pertinent to the pandemic, but also a programme that looks beyond the pandemic itself. That is why we focus on sustainable development. We collaborated with College of Europe in Natolin (CoEN), who has played an essential part of the organisation since the 3rd ASEF Young Leaders Summit. We also partnered with the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) to work on an ASEM Youth report and youth opportunities in Asia and Europe. CCL’s philosophy of what leadership means is very similar to ours–it is a process and social interaction rather than a title or fact.
The pandemic gave us the opportunity to completely transform the project. Certainly, we considered the opportunities and risks of this programme, engaging over 200 young people over a period of 10 months. If the project were to take place in a face-to-face format, we would not be able to involve as many participants for financial reasons. However, due to the new format we were faced with other challenges, such as digital inequality and other accessibility issues, and the need of frequently checking-in with participants to ensure their continued commitment and involvement in the project. Engagement levels and dynamics in a virtual world follow different rules and principles. Many of our participants have other personal and professional commitments outside of the programme. If you sign up for an event that is 3-4 days long, you can manage your time easily. If you wish to be part of a 10-month long learning journey, that is a different scenario. Screens unfortunately are not very helpful for conveying inter-cultural messages and a feeling of community.
In short, the whole project methodology changed, however COVID-19 was in a way an opportunity for us, as we developed a project in a new format.
Mr Alvin:
The programme has attracted 202 participants from 51 countries. Even more interesting is the ratio of participants, which is quite balanced with around 55% female and 45% male participants, coming from diverse backgrounds. What role does inclusion play?
Ms Leonie:
For optics on paper, it is always nice to list statistics and to say that you have 55% female and 45% male participants coming from 51 countries, representing the whole ASEM community. But what is actually behind that number? Diversity on paper does not mean that everybody has the possibility to speak up and has space to get engaged. During this ASEFYLS edition we invited the alumni who are DEI experts and identify themselves as Persons with Disability to collaborate with us and give us advice on enhancing the accessibility and inclusion elements of the project.
When you talk about inclusion there are certain areas that immediately come to mind, for instance gender equity and inclusion of people with disabilities. But we also need to think about the inclusion of participants with different socioeconomic backgrounds, different levels of education, and based in different locations. Since some participants come from rural areas with difficulties to access the internet, we have to ask ourselves, how do we engage these participants? In the upcoming months we would like to conduct a survey and find out the participants’ accessibility and what we need to improve over the next month to ensure that everybody has the same opportunity.
Mr Alvin:
I would like to take this opportunity to share my perspective on connectivity since you just touched on the issue. I have also witnessed that some participants have connectivity issues, which may decrease their motivation to participate in the online meetings. However, as you said, it is essential to ask these participants how one can assist them to follow the discussions. I have met with some participants with special needs that require assistance so that they can follow the remaining programme. How does ASEF try to facilitate participants with special needs?
Ms Leonie:
We need to realise that there is no one size fits all approach. Everybody has their different needs, competencies, skills, and backgrounds, which we have to acknowledge and understand. There are also different forms of and ways to assist participants. For example, if you have somebody who has a more introverted personality and who needs more encouragement to speak up, this encouragement can come from the moderators/facilitators, the organisers, but also the peers, who play a key role in supporting each other. Finding out how peers in the group are supporting each other is part of the journey as well.
We need to create an atmosphere where participants feel comfortable to speak and ask for support. As organisers we need to create an environment where participants can develop and show empathy towards others to understand and to step in and help.
Mr Alvin:
Right after the summit we will have what ASEF calls the Leadership in Action project. During this phase, participants which have been divided into 15 groups would showcase their leadership skills and SDG project implementation in the society. What do you expect from the participants during this phase?
Ms Leonie:
We have 15 different Leadership in Action activities ranging from fully virtual activities to onsite activities that take place in local communities. For instance, we have some participants produce podcasts while others tackle female health hygiene and sexual education.
Each Leadership in Action activity is led by a team leader, the so-called Navigator, who sets the overall course. Participants are the crew to contribute to a successful journey. Each of them has different tasks. There might be people who have strong communication skills or have expertise in content building. Others may help setting the path for the ‘ship’.
Each of the participants has to demonstrate his/her respective competencies and skills in the particular Leadership in Action activity. Then, it is a matter of time commitment and enthusiasm of the team to make the project happen. Over six months participants will be working with people outside their own country who they have never met in person. We hope that on one stage of the journey they can move from team members to friends.
Mr Alvin:
As you have stated earlier, the online meetings allow ASEF to invite more participants to the project. Could you see this project format repeating itself in the future?
Ms Leonie:
Hybrid projects are an interesting option for the future and offer many opportunities. However, we definitely want to go back to physical and face-to-face meetings, where we can interact and feel the excitement and intercultural dynamics of young people across the ASEM region. The online format opened our eyes that we can reach more people, and in the future, we need to try to find opportunities to make our projects more accessible, even though we know that we cannot gather the same number of participants as today for on-site meetings. I think our future task will be to incorporate measures to enhance accessibility, rather than only going back to face-to-face meetings.
Mr Alvin:
Do you have a last message that you would like to share to the ASEFYLS4 participants?
Ms Leonie:
Firstly, I would like to thank the participants, because this project is obviously only possible when you have people who give you their trust and believe in the project. Secondly, while ASEFEdu facilitates the ASEFYLS, the project becomes alive with the participants, because this project is empty without their implementation.. We are providing the materials for building “the house” and we give it a foundation and structure, but the participants need to design, decorate and furnish the “house”. They basically make it cozy. There is the saying ‘you can bring the horse to the water but you cannot convince the horse to drink’. In the end, indeed, we are engaging over 200 participants and offer opportunities, but whether or not the participants use these opportunities is up to them. Likewise, each participant will use this opportunity differently. We want everybody to participate in every session and do their activities and tasks, but there are reasons why people are less or more committed. This is a journey, and in a journey there are moments where you are running faster and slower depending on your energy. So, our message to the participants is: The ASEFYLS4 is a worthwhile journey with different learning opportunities and all of you will learn in very different ways. Focus on your personal learning journey and your own lessons learned. We are here, giving you the raw materials. You are the one who ought to shape it.
