In honor of Youth Substance Use Prevention Month, we are excited to bring you a special episode featuring inspiring young leaders from across Asia who recently participated in the 11th Asian Youth Forum, organized by the Fourth Wave Foundation.

Throughout the episode, these passionate youth leaders share their unique experiences at the forum, discussing what motivated them to attend, how the sessions shaped their views, and what they plan to take back to their communities. They explore the concept of the “prevention influencer,” emphasizing the role of youth in creating positive change and how peer-led initiatives can make prevention efforts more relatable and impactful.

Listeners will hear deeply personal reflections on substance use, leadership, and the importance of cross-cultural collaboration. The episode concludes with these young influencers sharing their upcoming projects, including founding student societies, launching awareness programs, and fostering ongoing partnerships for prevention.

Listen to this special episode of the #P2P here.

Key Highlights:

  • Jigme (Bhutan) discusses the powerful shift in his perception of substance use, learning that people who use substances are victims of their circumstances and deserve empathy and support.
  • Shine (India) shares how the forum transformed her views on substance use, helping her develop empathy and awareness. She highlights the need to challenge stigma and redefine what it means to be “cool.”
  • Nories (Malaysia) reflects on the importance of using social media to spread prevention messages, particularly around the rise of mushroom vaping among youth in Malaysia.
  • Vinay (India) emphasizes the shared challenges faced by communities and the power of collaborative, cross-cultural problem-solving.
  • Senuri (Sri Lanka) shares how the forum inspired her to launch a new student society focused on substance use prevention at her university.
  • Huy (Vietnam) shares his experience with vulnerable communities affected by substance use and emphasizes the importance of using social media as a tool for prevention influencers.

Memorable Quotes and Short Clips:

  • “Youth are not just the leaders of tomorrow—we are the leaders of today.” – Jigme View the short clip featuring Jigme here.
  • “To prevent, we need to show love and provide distractions like sports and community events.” – Nories View the short clip featuring Nories here.
  • “The key to prevention is empathy, not sympathy. We need to see people as humans first.” – Vinay  View the short clip featuring Vinay here.
  • “As youth, we stand as your partners in prevention.” – Senuri View the short clip featuring Senuri here.
  • “We would like adults to give more credibility to the ideas of youth and listen to youth and then we can head in the direction and integrate new ideas of the youth and the wisdom of the older generation to tailor a more innovative idea to tackle this issue.” – Shine View the short clip featuring Shine here.
  • “The word partnership is very important in this sense because I think it’s important youth and the previous generation work together. Youth have a perspective and it’s also our futures. The preceding generation have the power, they have the wisdom that comes with it. Together I think we can help each other. So one of the things I want to say is just give us a equal platform for us to express our opinion for us to contribute to what is being done.” View the short clip featuring Huy here.

Episode Links: