By Jess Stone, SDSN Youth Asia-Pacific Regional Focal Point

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The  Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD), hosted annually, is the intergovernmental forum focused on reviewing regional progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2026, the Forum took place from 24-27 February at the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC) in Bangkok, Thailand.

Among the selected side-events, SDSN Youth hosted our webinar on 26 February: Youth-Led Partnerships Across Asia-Pacific: Stories from Local Action to Global Impact, in partnership with SDSN Youth Korea, SDSN Youth Indonesia, SDSN Youth Philippines, and SDSN Youth Member Organisations The Global Youth Leaders' Summit (GYLS) and the Kashful Foundation.

Setting the Stage
The side-event kicked off with opening remarks from Jess Stone, SDSN Youth’s Asia-Pacific Regional Focal Point, who extracted key takeaways from the recent Sustainable Development Report and Asia-Pacific SDG Progress Report 2025. She used the findings from these reports to set the stage for participants, identifying the region’s collective strengths and weaknesses in the march towards 2030. In particular, Jess emphasised the key role of SDG 17 as the “connective tissue” of the 2030 Agenda, and the critical role young people play in its advancement. 

Expanding upon Jess’ insights, Florence Purnima D Rozario, an International Affairs Associate at the Kashful Foundation, explained the significance of Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), and the role young people play in this international accountability mechanism.

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Case Study 1: SDSN Youth Philippines
After introducing key themes, the side-event moved to illustrate SDG 17 in action, through the delivery of four case studies from young people in the Asia-Pacific. The first case study was presented by Rafaella Villena, Network Coordinator for the recently established SDSN Youth Philippines.

Rafaella spoke candidly about the challenges of establishing a new youth network, complementing the discussion with practical frameworks such as the 10 Steps of Community Organising. She emphasised that certain obstacles, such as the apparent oversaturation of youth organisations within a country, may in fact be strengths in disguise, offering opportunities to collaborate with and learn from existing groups in order to amplify impact. Rafaella concluded with a powerful quote: “Social problems must be addressed by community networks and not simply by the sum of individual good deeds.”

Case Study 2: SDSN Youth Indonesia
Next, SDSN Youth Indonesia demonstrated how strategic stakeholder engagement can translate SDG 17 into tangible, community-level impact. Through partnerships with organisations such as Edukasi Berjalan, UNDP Indonesia, and UOB Indonesia, the network showcased a diverse portfolio of collaborations spanning grassroots education, policy dialogue, and private sector engagement. From delivering interactive SDG-themed board games at an orphanage in South Jakarta to co-facilitating multi-stakeholder discussions on sustainable business practices and human rights, SDSN Youth Indonesia highlighted the importance of tailoring partnerships to different audiences while maintaining a clear sustainability focus.

A key takeaway from their case study was the value of positioning youth not merely as participants, but as co-creators in cross-sector dialogue. By engaging government agencies, financial institutions, media actors, and civil society organisations, SDSN Youth Indonesia illustrated how youth networks can serve as credible intermediaries, bridging technical expertise, community realities, and policy ambition to amplify long-term impact.

Case Study 3: Global Youth Leaders’ Summit
Following SDSN Youth Indonesia’s presentation, representatives from the Global Youth Leaders’ Summit (GYLS) in Singapore shared how a whole-of-society approach can expand the scope and depth of youth engagement in sustainable development. Since its founding in 2021, GYLS has cultivated multi-stakeholder partnerships across public, private, and people sectors—what they described as a “3P Partnership Model.” Their initiatives, including the Youth Public-Foreign Policy Pipeline Programme and collaborations with think tanks, ministries, NGOs, and social entrepreneurs, exemplified how structured collaboration can expose young people to policymaking processes and alternative pathways for civic participation.

GYLS emphasised that meaningful youth participation in SDG 17 goes beyond symbolic inclusion. Instead, young people can uniquely bridge intergenerational and institutional divides, convening academia, civil society, and government actors around shared interests. By equipping youth with research skills, policy literacy, and platforms for dialogue, GYLS demonstrated how local action can scale towards regional and global impact.

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Case Study 4: SDSN Youth Korea
Finally, SDSN Youth Korea presented a comprehensive model for institutionalising youth participation across local, national, regional, and global levels. Anchored in a vision to educate, connect, and support young people, the network has developed structured programmes ranging from certified SDG literacy education to expert interview series and intergenerational networking initiatives. Through the SDG Youth Committee Korea and collaborations with government bodies, UN agencies, and other stakeholders, SDSN Youth Korea has created formal channels for policy advocacy and youth consultation.

A particularly innovative element of their approach is the publication of the Voluntary Youth Review (VYR), the world’s first youth-led assessment report quantifying contributions to the SDGs. By aligning youth impact reporting alongside Voluntary National and Local Reviews, SDSN Youth Korea reinforced the message that accountability mechanisms must include youth perspectives. Their case study underscored that advancing SDG 17 requires not only partnerships, but systems that sustain youth leadership, measure impact, and connect grassroots action to global processes.

Wrapping Up: Q&A & Closing Remarks
The event concluded with an interactive Q&A, moderated by Florence Purnima D Rozario, which provided participants with the opportunity to engage directly. The discussion reinforced many of the session’s central themes, and panelists emphasised that effective SDG 17 partnerships require intentional design, long-term vision, and meaningful inclusion of young people in decision-making processes.

In her closing remarks, Jess Stone underscored that the session had moved beyond abstract theory, showcasing operational models of partnership in action: from SDSN Youth Philippines’ coordination of fragmented youth initiatives, to SDSN Youth Indonesia’s cross-sector dialogue on sustainable finance and human rights, to the Global Youth Leaders’ Summit’s public-private-people partnership model, and finally SDSN Youth Korea’s institutionalisation of youth accountability through the Voluntary Youth Review. Jess distilled three core lessons: partnership requires structure, reciprocity, and accountability. She called on governments, UN agencies, financial institutions, academia, and civil society to embed youth structurally in SDG governance, provide sustained institutional support to youth networks, and recognise youth-led data and reporting as legitimate contributions to the accountability ecosystem. Concluding on a hopeful note, she urged stakeholders to ensure that by 2030, this generation can say it did not merely inherit the SDGs, but helped to implement them.

Looking ahead, SDSN Youth is committed to continuing its impact in the Asia-Pacific region to ensure the region achieves sustainable development. SDSN Youth is grateful to ESCAP (the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) for the opportunity to host an official side event and to amplify youth voices. 

If you missed this insightful session or would like to revisit the discussion, we invite you to watch the recording. For collaboration opportunities with SDSN Youth, contact youth@unsdsn.org