BACKGROUND
The ASEAN Foundation was established in 1997 during ASEAN’s 30th Anniversary Summit in Kuala Lumpur to advance shared prosperity, foster ASEAN identity, and strengthen people-to-people connections. For nearly three decades, it has championed community-building through education, dialogue, and advocacy, empowering young people to play an active role in shaping the region’s future.
However, many challenges remain. Gender gaps in digital inclusion continue to hold women back, with men enjoying more consistent access to devices, data, and networks (UN Women, 2022). Educational opportunities are still unevenly distributed, limiting the ability of marginalised youth to fully recognise their potential. Issues of mental health, often overlooked, affect how young people engage, learn, and lead. And without strong media literacy, misinformation and harmful narratives risk undermining social cohesion and peace. These barriers not only reinforce systemic inequalities but also restrict the ability of ASEAN’s youth, especially women and marginalised groups, to advocate for themselves and contribute meaningfully to society.
In this landscape, content creators hold powerful potential. They can shape social norms, shift mindsets, and connect with audiences in ways that traditional platforms cannot. By equipping young creators with the skills, tools, and networks to champion equality, promote mental well-being, strengthen media literacy, and foster peace, ASEAN can amplify authentic voices that build safer, more inclusive, and resilient digital spaces.
With support from the Mission of Canada to ASEAN through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, the ASEAN Foundation is proud to launch the ASEAN Youth Creators for Impact (ASEAN Y-Impact) Programme. This initiative builds on the ASEAN Communication Master Plan II and the ASEAN Work Plan on Youth 2021–2025, while also contributing directly to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 5 on women’s empowerment, SDG 4 on inclusive and equitable education, and SDG 16 on peace, justice, and strong institutions.
Through ASEAN Y-Impact, young creators will not only learn to raise awareness but also to inspire change, bridging divides, promoting equality, and creating digital communities where every voice can thrive.
OVERVIEW
The programme will empower 11 content creators from 10 ASEAN countries and Timor-Leste to lead campaigns on key social equality themes, including women’s empowerment, education rights, mental health, digital inclusion, media literacy, and peacebuilding. Each creator will design and implement an eight-week social campaign infused with ASEAN awareness, producing at least 8 pieces of original content on their preferred social media platforms. To support their work, each creator will receive a USD 150 deliverable fee.
OBJECTIVE
The programme aims to empower 11 content creators to raise awareness on key social equality topics, such as women’s empowerment, education rights, mental health, digital inclusion, media literacy, and peacebuilding, through impactful social media campaigns. By amplifying their voices, the initiative seeks to spark conversations that resonate widely, inspire greater ownership of these causes, and create a snowball effect for lasting change.
TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Design a social campaign plan that highlights the programme’s core themes, which are women’s empowerment, education rights, mental health, digital inclusion, media literacy, and peacebuilding, while weaving ASEAN awareness throughout the narrative.
- Produce at least eight engaging and inspiring social media posts over an 8-week period on the preferred platform, addressing the selected themes. The content created must emphasise positive and encouraging aspects of the themes and must not indicate support for or against any political situation or political party.
- Submit a final content report at the end of the campaign period, including performance metrics and required administrative documents, as part of the eligibility to receive the deliverable fee.
- Contribute to the development of a social media toolkit to promote social equality across ASEAN.
- Actively participate in the online onboarding and training sessions provided under the programme.
- Be open to connecting and collaborating with fellow creators in the production and dissemination of content.
- Collaborate with ASEAN Foundation staff to ensure smooth implementation and alignment with programme objectives.
- If selected as a winner, be prepared to travel to ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta, Indonesia, to attend the awarding ceremony. The flights will be fully funded only for participants travelling from 10 ASEAN countries and Timor-Leste.
EXPECTED OUTPUTS
- Social Campaign Plan
Submit a detailed content plan after the online onboarding and training session. The more comprehensive the plan is, the better it is. It should outline the campaign strategy and the types of content to be produced during the 8-week campaign.
- Campaign Implementation
Deliver at least 8 engaging social media posts across the 8-week programme period.
- Campaign Report
Provide a final report summarising content performance, engagement metrics, and key lessons learned.
- Workshops and Networking
Actively participate in all online training and networking sessions.
- Social Media Toolkit
Contribute content, insights, and lessons learned to help develop the shared toolkit.
ELIGIBILITY
Applicants must:
- Be a citizen of one of the ten ASEAN Member States or Timor-Leste.
- Be 18–35 years old at the start of the programme.
- Be an active social media user with a strong interest in content creation and storytelling on themes such as women’s empowerment, education rights, mental health, digital inclusion, media literacy, and peacebuilding (no minimum follower count required).
- As part of the social media content challenge, create and post a video (max. 60 seconds) OR an infographic content on one social equality topic (women’s empowerment, education rights, mental health, digital inclusion, media literacy, or peacebuilding). Upload the content to your most active social media account, ensuring the account is set to public (not private). You can create the content piece in your local language; however, please provide English translations in your content or caption. Tag and mention @aseanfoundation and @canadaasean, and in the caption, explain that this is part of your application for the ASEAN Y-Impact Programme application. Use the hashtags #ASEANYImpact #ASEANEquality and #WeAreASEAN. Only applicants who submit a social media content challenge will be assessed.
Creators who demonstrate passion, creativity, and a commitment to going beyond the minimum requirements will have a greater chance of being selected among the top three creators.
BENEFITS
- Training: Gain access to exclusive expert-led online trainings covering the programme’s core themes and ASEAN awareness.
- Incentive: Receive a deliverable fee of USD 150 as recognition for producing high-quality campaign content.
- Awards: The top three creators will be invited to the on-site event and awarding ceremony in ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta, at the end of the programme.
- Ambassadors of the Day: The top three youth creators will be awarded as the ambassadors of the day, visiting the Mission of Canada to ASEAN in Jakarta, where they will engage directly with diplomats and experts, gaining mentorship and valuable insights into international cooperation.
- E-Certificates: All selected creators will be awarded official certificates upon completion of the programme.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Interested applicants are required to prepare and submit the following documents:
- Professional headshot photo
- Scan of a valid identification card (National ID or Passport)
- Links to your active social media profiles (ensure they are accessible)
- Updated CV in English or a link to your updated LinkedIn profile
- Link to your social media content challenge
Applications must be submitted at https://bit.ly/ASEANYImpact before 19 October 2025, 23:59 (GMT +7).
The ASEAN Foundation is an equal opportunity organisation. All qualified applicants will be considered without prejudice or discrimination of any kind. Please note that only selected candidates will be notified. Personal data provided in the application process will be treated with the strictest confidentiality and used solely for the recruitment process.
Tentative Timeline*
| Activity | New |
| Call for Applications | 3 – 19 October 2025 |
| Selection Process | 20 – 31 October 2025 |
| Announcement and confirmation of participation for the online onboarding sessions | 3 – 7 November 2025 |
| Online onboarding and training session | 13 November 2025 |
| Submission of content campaign plan by creators | 14 – 23 November 2025 |
| Approval of the content campaign plan from the ASEAN Foundation and the Mission of Canada to ASEAN | 24 – 28 November 2025 |
| Implementation of content campaign by creators | 1 December 2025 – 31 January 2026 |
| Submission of the first month of campaign report | 1 – 7 January 2026 |
| Second and third online training session | 15 – 16 January 2026 |
| Final campaign report submission by the creators | 1 – 3 February 2026 |
| Assessment of 11 content creators’ content by the ASEAN Foundation and the Mission of Canada to ASEAN | 4 – 6 February 2026 |
| Announcement of Top Three Best Content Creator | 8 February 2026 |
*Dates are subject to change.
For further enquiries, please contact AF.Influencers@aseanfoundation.org
Access the Frequently Asked Questions here