Reflection from ECM Youth Delegate

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Reflection from ECM Youth Delegate

"Youth Engagement in Advancing Good Governance"

By Dong Minh Thu, YMCA Vietnam

I attended the APAY ECM in Penang, Malaysia from 4-7 April 2025. For me as a youth delegate, it was not only my first ECM but also my first time dealing with governance on a regional level of the whole YMCA movement.

Prior to coming, I'd thought of governance as something that was only for those in big positions at the top of the tree – something quite remote from the day-to-day realities of what we do with young people. But ECM provided new language and lenses for me to understand governance as not only structural but profoundly relational and value-driven.

What impressed me most about the sessions was the listening from the youth. We were not only observers — we were encouraged to think, voice and participate. Conversations around policy-making, accountability, and resource allocation may seem technical, but through the ECM process, I learned how these decisions affect the way programs and communities that we are living.

For me, one takeaway was that good governance is not just about having the right documents, but about a culture of participation and trust that is built over time. And young people play a central role in that.

I was greatly inspired during the course of the meeting by the inter-generational exchange that occurred. Leaders from around the region were not just welcoming, but were genuinely interested to hear what young people had to say, whether it was in these reports or over shared meals.

Penang left me with a new sense of obligation. For a young person, participating in a governance meeting is not about waiting for a title or a role — it is about showing up, asking questions and staying rooted in the values of justice, equity and transparency.

I also hope that more of our young people in the Region are equipped to join in the task of building the kind of future we want to have for our community — as the co-stewards of our mission we carry with them.