Youth must be empowered to embrace a circular mindset, sparking innovative ideas, eco-conscious lifestyles, and products designed for a regenerative economy.
Last week, massive flash floods hit my hometown on Lombok Island, Indonesia, submerging residential areas and arterial roads that had never flooded before. The floods swept away trees and cars, displacing 7,000 households.
While heavy rainfall was a factor, unsustainable practices like throwing trash into canals or rivers exacerbated the problem. The household waste blocked waterways and multiplied the damage. However, blaming communities overlooks systematic issues including inefficient waste collection and poor waste management systems. Products designed for single-use, especially plastic, encourage the behavior of ‘use and dispose,’ as they are manufactured in a linear ‘take-make-dispose’ model that ignores end-of-life waste impacts.
Unfortunately, this phenomenon extends beyond my island hometown. Across Southeast Asia, erratic rainfall patterns linked with climate change are changing the risk landscape in the region. Pollution in rivers worsens flooding in cities such as Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh, Manila, and Bangkok. In Jakarta, plastic constitutes 25% of the 165 tons of waste choking the Ciliwung River. Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River carries around 4,000 tons of plastic waste, increasing disaster risks.
Reducing plastic waste-induced floods requires more than behavioral changes; it requires transitioning production from linear ‘take-make-dispose’ models to circular systems that extend product life and minimize waste.
Youth bear a large burden of climate disasters, and are undeniably the hardest hit. With 213 million young people (between 15-34 years) in the region, nurturing forward-thinking generations is critical. The younger generations must adopt a circular mindset to drive sustainable lifestyles, foster innovative ideas, and design products with the circular economy model.
Globally, youth are recognised as agents of change. The UN has included youth groups in UNFCCCprocesses since 2009, and remarkable youth-led engagements and movements like ‘Fridays for Future’ led by Greta Thunberg are leading examples.
In Southeast Asia, initiatives like the 2023 ASEAN Youth Economy Forum initiated dialogue on circular economy between youth delegates, regional policymakers and circular economy actors. Grassroots efforts, such as Yunus Thailand’s Waste Hero Alliance connect youth with informal waste workers to advance a rights-based and gender-equal circular economy.
An SEI study reveals that youth need platforms to amplify their voices. While the above initiatives provide space, formal mechanisms must institutionalize the circular economy principles in education to ensure lasting change.
Equipping ASEAN’s young generations with a circular economy mindset and skills is more crucial than ever. ASEAN’s vision for a circular future outlined in its Framework for Circular Economy requires skilled youth leadership but its implementation is still being awaited.
According to UN ESCAP, circular economy education equips individuals, businesses, and communities with the knowledge, skills, and values to promote resource efficiency, waste reduction, and the long-term recovery of natural systems.
Higher education institutions are key to this change as they can systematically nurture the circular mindset and strengthen the conceptual understanding. For instance, King Mongkut University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) in Thailand, runs a STEAM Platform to accelerate the circular economy transformation among youth through internship programs.
As an influential body, the ASEAN University Network (AUN) should expand its efforts by facilitating knowledge exchange on the circular economy and forging cross-continent partnerships with overseas universities with best practices in circular economy, such as those in Europe.
Technical skills are equally necessary, as the circular economy requires a different approach to production and materials compared to the linear economic model. Technical and vocational schools that produce ready-to-work laborers, and industries transitioning to the circular economy model must collaborate on reskilling and upskilling programs to equip future workforces for circular production systems.
By 2038, ASEAN’s youth population will peak at over 220 million. Investing in their education today will unlock a demographic dividend: forward-thinking generations capable of realizing the region’s circularity vision and strengthening climate resilience.
Feature / Effective from September 2025, Jürisoo will bring her extensive leadership experience alongside professional and personal connections to SEI Asia.
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