Course / Training•Norway · Tromsø · Hybrid

ASEF Young Leaders Summit (ASEFYLS) Capacity Training

Funding

Free · Fully Funded

Program dates

Jun 9, 2026 – Nov 30, 2026

The ASEF Young Leaders Summit (ASEFYLS) is a youth leadership programme run by the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), the intergovernmental body that connects the 51 partners of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). Each edition brings together students and young professionals from Asia and Europe to build self-, team- and societal-leadership skills. The 2026 edition, themed “Anticipatory Leadership for a Human-Centred Future,” pairs an online training phase with a self-directed action phase in participants’ own communities, and selects a smaller group for an in-person capacity training in Tromsø, Norway. The programme is delivered around strategic foresight, horizon scanning, AI ethics, systems thinking and anticipatory leadership.

Benefits & funding

  • No registration or participation fees — the programme is free to join for selected applicants.
  • For participants chosen for the in-person Arctic training, accommodation, meals and travel subsidies are provided.
  • Structured leadership curriculum (in the 2026 edition, 16 online sessions across the training phase) plus mentoring and a cross-regional Asia-Europe peer network.
  • Opportunity to design and run community “multiplier” events during the action phase.

Eligibility

  • Citizen of one of the eligible ASEF partner countries in Asia or Europe.
  • Aged between 18 and 30 at the time of application.
  • Playing a leading role in a youth organisation or student association (not limited to board members or executive committees).
  • Excellent command of English, spoken and written.

Application process

  1. 1
    Wait for the annual open call to be published on the ASEF website (the 2026 call ran until 12 May 2026).
  2. 2
    Complete the online application form, describing your leadership role and motivation.
  3. 3
    Selected applicants join the online training phase; a subset (around 40 in 2026) is then chosen for the in-person Arctic training.
  4. 4
    Complete the action phase by organising community activities in your local context.

Program timeline

  1. Application deadline (2026 edition)

    May 12, 2026

  2. Online training phase

    Jun 9, 2026 to Jul 30, 2026

  3. In-person capacity training, Tromsø, Norway (selected participants)

    Aug 23, 2026 to Aug 29, 2026

  4. Action phase in local communities

    August to November 2026