Today’s youth are innate storytellers—inspiring movers to protect our region’s natural heritage. Photo by Thant Zhin (ACB)

The ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) (EAAFP Partner) is tapping into the power of the youth to tell stories from the field about biodiversity, its values, and the many ways to safeguard it, through its newest programme, the Young ASEAN Storytellers (YAS). The ACB is calling all ASEAN youth to showcase their skills and talents in storytelling as an essential part of the bid to highlight what life in harmony with nature would look like. Twenty budding content creators and storytellers from ASEAN countries will get first-hand experience in impactful storytelling for biodiversity conservation.

The YAS programme is supported by the European Union (EU) through the Biodiversity Conservation and Management of Protected Areas in ASEAN (BCAMP) Project; and the ASEAN-Germany Cooperation in Biodiversity through the Second Phase of the Institutional Strengthening of the Biodiversity Sector in the ASEAN (ISB II) Project and the Small Grants Programme (SGP).

“We at the ACB believe that this generation is the torchbearer for our region’s future. We see that the youth of today are more driven to contribute to saving our planet, most especially in conserving the region’s rich natural and cultural heritage, and we are proud to be amplifying their voices through this programme,” said ACB Executive Director Theresa Mundita Lim.

Lim also underscored the importance of the youth’s role in connecting with others, given their knack for using innovative online platforms and their wide reach. These platforms and tools can cross boundaries and connect communities across the region to find solutions to the multiple environmental challenges we collectively face.

Application details:

• Target participants: Youth aged 18 to 35 who are eager to explore, passionate about nature, and are good storytellers are encouraged to be part of YAS.
• Nationality: Youth from ASEAN countries (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam)
• Format: Stories created through photography, writing, art, filmmaking, or other forms of creative storytelling
• Story themes include:
  • (1) ASEAN, our home: featuring exceptional stories behind the ASEAN’s rich flora and fauna, documenting rare species or habitats, and how their homes are kept healthy and protected,
  •  (2) ASEAN, our heritage: featuring inspiring stories honoring our intricate link with nature through local culture, food, and livelihoods that showcase the rich natural heritage of the ASEAN and the various ways we benefit from it.
• Applications deadline: 15 April 2022 (results will be released in May).

Exciting opportunities await the young storytellers. Aside from the grant that they will be receiving to produce their stories, they will undergo a series of learning sessions with biodiversity and storytelling experts, as they embark on an immersive trip to the region’s ‘creme of the crop’ protected areas–the ASEAN Heritage Parks. The YAS will then create compelling biodiversity stories that will be shared across media platforms.

Find out more about the YAS programme and the AYBP by visiting the website: Young ASEAN Storytellers (YAS) | AYBP (aseanbiodiversity.org)