Singapore – As Singapore approaches its super-aged threshold, with 21 per cent of the population expected to be aged 65 and above by 2026, the country faces a growing challenge that extends beyond healthcare and infrastructure. Many seniors and persons with disabilities experience a profound sense of irrelevance and social isolation in an increasingly digital and fast-paced society. Research from Duke-NUS has shown that this sense of disconnection can significantly affect well-being, while rising scam cases highlight the urgent need for improved digital and financial literacy among vulnerable groups.
At the same time, younger generations often lack meaningful opportunities to engage with and learn from the lived experiences of older Singaporeans. This creates a widening gap that traditional service models have struggled to bridge.
To address this, Bamboo Builders Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based social enterprise, is implementing “ASEAN Connect” as part of Maybank & ASEAN Foundation’s eMpowering Youths Across ASEAN (eYAA): Cohort 6. The five-day Regional Capacity Building Workshop, held from 2 to 6 July 2026 at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, brings together 110 Youth Volunteers and representatives from Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Social Enterprises (SEs) from across ASEAN.
This year’s cohort represents two important milestones for the programme. For the first time, Lao PDR joins as an implementing country and Timor-Leste’s accession as ASEAN’s 11th Member State led to an increase in the number of Youth Volunteers from 100 to 110.
The timing of eYAA: Cohort 6 is particularly significant as 2026 has been proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development (IVY 2026). This global recognition underscores the vital role of volunteerism in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals, building resilient communities, and fostering social inclusion. As the world observes this landmark year, eYAA stands as a powerful example of how structured, cross-border youth volunteer programmes can deliver tangible impact at the grassroots level across Southeast Asia.
The eYAA workshop serves as a platform for volunteer teams to finalise 10 community projects that will be implemented across eight ASEAN countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam.
Speaking at the launch, Dr Piti Srisangnam, Executive Director of the ASEAN Foundation said “Cohort 6 reflects ASEAN as it is today, with eleven Member States, eight implementing countries, and a generation of young people who are co-designing solutions with local communities rather than simply delivering them. What makes eYAA distinctive is that every project begins with a local organisation that deeply understands its community, and every volunteer enters as a partner, not a visitor. From Viet Nam in Cohort 5 to Lao PDR in Cohort 6, our expansion is deliberate, and every step is built to last.”
As a long-term partner with ASEAN Foundation since 2018, Maybank Foundation continues to support the programme with grant funding of up to USD 25,000 per project team.
At the event, Datuk Shahril Azuar Jimin, Group Chief Sustainability Officer of Maybank said ““Since the inception of eYAA, we have seen young changemakers go beyond volunteering to become catalysts for meaningful community transformation across ASEAN. Their ability to connect with local communities, understand real challenges and drive solutions embodies the spirit of positive social impact. At Maybank, this aligns closely with our ROAR30 commitments to impact society positively and create value beyond banking. Together with the ASEAN Foundation, we continue to build a platform that empowers youth to turn passion into action and ideas into tangible outcomes, leading to real life impact for communities.”
Cohort 6 marks a significant step forward in alumni engagement, featuring the established Alumni as Mentors programme alongside the newly introduced Alumni Accelerator Programme. Through the Alumni as Mentors programme, selected alumni from previous cohorts will provide cultural orientation, local insights, and peer support to this year’s volunteers. Meanwhile, the Alumni Accelerator Programme offers grants of up to USD 2,500 to alumni-led project teams, empowering them to develop and implement community initiatives that create meaningful local impact.
Since inception, eYAA has empowered 482 youth volunteers, implemented 50 community projects, and directly benefited over 114,000 individuals across ASEAN. The programme continues to grow through a deliberate, phased approach, adding new countries only when robust local partnerships and the right community infrastructure are in place.
The ten projects in Cohort 6 focus on community building, arts and culture, environmental diversity, and education. “ASEAN Connect” focuses on community empowerment by fostering genuine intergenerational relationships.
Through the project, 11 ASEAN Youth Volunteers will work directly with seniors from St Luke’s Eldercare and persons with disabilities from Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore (CPAS). Youth volunteers will co-create “Life Story” portfolios with 20 seniors, helping them document their personal histories, memories, and life lessons into physical or digital books. This approach positions seniors as experts and storytellers, restoring a sense of purpose and dignity.
At the same time, youth volunteers will design and deliver tailored digital and financial literacy workshops for 60 persons with disabilities and 20 seniors. These practical sessions focus on safe phone usage, identifying scams, and protecting personal finances. The project will also support large-scale school assembly talks reaching 1,000 youths aged 13 to 16 across Singapore schools, equipping younger generations with essential digital safety skills while fostering empathy and civic responsibility.
In total, the project directly benefits 1,080 people, including 20 seniors, 60 persons with disabilities, and 1,000 youths. It also reaches 160 indirect beneficiaries, primarily caregivers, and targets 2,200 people through digital outreach.
“Through structured digital literacy training, collaborative storytelling, and inclusive community activities, our project is designed to systematically reduce social isolation, strengthen cross-generational relationships, and encourage active civic participation,” said a representative of Bamboo Builders Pte Ltd. “In the long term, we hope that ASEAN Connect can align closely with Singapore’s national Age Well SG and Forward SG agendas by establishing sustainable, ground-up networks of care that ensure vulnerable citizens remain digitally empowered, valued, and connected within our communities.”
By placing youth at the heart of intergenerational connection and digital empowerment, “ASEAN Connect” offers a practical and replicable model for building a more inclusive and resilient Singapore as the nation navigates its super-aged future during the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development.
