U.S.-ASEAN Smart Cities Partnership
The Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) is the U.S. government’s signature program to engage with emerging leaders in Southeast Asia. Through a variety of programs and engagements, YSEALI seeks to build the leadership capabilities of youth in the region, strengthen ties between the United States and Southeast Asia, and nurture a community of leaders who work across borders to solve shared issues.
The application of digital solutions to create smart cities can help to address the urban challenges and create new business opportunities. It is important for future leaders to understand both the possibilities new technology offers in the field of urban development as well as how to ensure transparency, resiliency, privacy, security, sustainability, and interoperability, as well as how to include all segments of the population so that no one is left behind.
The YSEALI network, with financial and technical support from the US-ASEAN Smart Cities Partnership, continued its series of learning sessions of the YSEALI Smart Cities Regional Workshop – Hybrid Program – running from July – October 2021. It brought together 50 registered YSEALI network members between the ages of 20-35 from all ASEAN member nations as well as Timor-Leste to understand the opportunities and risks of smart sustainable cities. The recent weekend sessions shared ideas for urban design, health and well-bring, industry and innovation, and sustainable infrastructure and the built environment for addressing environmental concerns and improving citizens’ quality of life.
For further information please reach out to Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative @yseali.
