SINGAPORE — Four young Filipinos recently took part in the inaugural Asia’s Rising Circle (ARC), a regional leadership program that brought together emerging changemakers from across Asia to explore how well-being, resilience, and cross-border collaboration can shape the region’s long-term progress.
The program, organized by the Singapore International Foundation (SIF), convened 42 youth leaders from Southeast Asia, China, and India in a hybrid format from January 9 to 31, 2026. Designed to strengthen leadership capability and foster trusted regional networks, ARC positions the youth not only as beneficiaries of development but as active architects of social and economic change.
For the Philippine delegates, ARC offered both exposure and affirmation—that local leadership, when connected to regional perspectives, can generate impact that extends beyond borders.
The inaugural edition centered on health and well-being as foundations for resilience and social mobility, a theme that organizers said reflects the growing recognition that economic progress cannot be sustained without attention to mental, physical, and social health.
Participants began with a series of online workshops focused on three pillars: knowledge, skills, and abilities. These sessions introduced systems thinking, adaptive leadership, and the idea that disruption, whether technological, social, or environmental, can serve as a catalyst for innovation rather than a barrier to progress.
During that period, participants gathered in Singapore for in-person dialogues, learning journeys, and exchanges with policymakers and practitioners. Highlights included a “Human Library” session that challenged participants to rethink traditional definitions of success, and panel discussions on youth empowerment, technology, and resilience.
At a ministerial fireside chat, Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan urged participants to anchor leadership in competence and service.
“Whatever your interest or profession, be very good at it, and think about how you can contribute to positive change in your society,” he said. “Leadership is not an attribute in isolation. It must be grounded in the opportunities you are given, and in how you choose to act on them.”
He also stressed the importance of regional solidarity amid rapid technological change, calling on young leaders to “stand on our own two feet but also stand together” to seize shared opportunities while preserving social cohesion.
The program reflects SIF’s broader, long-standing focus on youth leadership and people-to-people ties across Asia. SIF Chairman Janadas Devan said ARC was created to help young leaders navigate complexity while building trust across cultures.
“Young people across Asia are not only navigating rapid change—they are shaping the future,” Devan said. “ARC creates space for emerging changemakers to build capability, forge meaningful connections, and turn disruption into opportunity.”
SIF, which marks 35 years of fostering cross-border partnerships, sees ARC as part of a wider ecosystem of youth programmes that includes BRIDGE and the ASEAN Youth Fellowship, each addressing different dimensions of leadership and regional collaboration.
For Filipino participant Brelyn Mae Belmores, a community development manager from Sarangani Province, the experience highlighted the power of regional perspective.
“What resonated with me most was how ARC intentionally cultivated a transnational ecosystem of participants from diverse backgrounds,” she noted. “I am leaving with new connections and friendships that genuinely feel lasting.”
Fellow participants echoed similar sentiments, describing ARC as a rare space for honest dialogue across cultures and sectors—where listening was as important as learning.
As a multi-edition initiative, ARC will continue to convene future cohorts around themes such as employability, adaptability, and lifelong learning. Organisers said the goal is not only to train individuals, but to cultivate an enduring regional network of young leaders committed to collective action.
In a region marked by complexity and uncertainty, ARC’s first group offers a quiet but compelling reminder: Asia’s future is already being shaped—not in boardrooms alone, but in conversations among young leaders learning to build bridges across borders.