November 14 - 16, 2018

Venue: Bonifacio Global City

From November 14 - 16, 2018, the 2018 Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit took place in Bonifacio Global City, Manila, Philippines.

Asia Society’s 2018 Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit was co-organized by Asia Society New York and Asia Society Philippines.This year’s summit was the inaugural event to usher in Asia Society Philippines' 20th year anniversary, and explored the theme of "Leading with Purpose in Turbulent Times." During this three-day summit, new members and alums of the Asia 21 network partook in sessions that explored a variety of topics including leadership and civic engagement, social entrepreneurship and the vulnerabilities of artificial intelligence, and the compatibility of democracy and populism in the current milieu of sectarian politics and fake news. 

While most sessions were led and driven by members of the Asia 21 network, the Summit's keynote addresses were given by a few notable guests including Vice President of the Republic of the Philippines H.E. Leni Robredo, member of the Republic of the Philippines Senate Senator Benigno “Bam” Aquino ‘06, and Dr. Saamdu Chetri, the founding executive director of Bhutan's Gross National Happiness Centre (GNHC). 

In addition to welcoming the Class of 2018, more than 60 Young Leaders from previous classes attended and participated in various sessions of the Summit. They include Ejaj Ahmad, Founder and President of the Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC); Arnel Casanova, AECOM's country director for the Philippines; Emily Chew, Managing Director, Global Head of ESG at Manulife Asset Management; Duncan Clark, Chairman of BDA China; Fritz Demopoulos, Founding Partner of Queen's Road Capital; John Haffner, President of Haffner Group; Rick Pal, Founder of Ek Disha and Managing Partner at Zuhnë; and Durreen Shahnaz, Founder and CEO of Impact Investment Exchange (IIX). 

To view photos of the Summit, please click here. 

To view bios of the 2018 Class, please click here.