- UNESCO inaugurates the EE-Net Southeast Asia Chapter in Kuala Lumpur to elevate entrepreneurship education and empower the region’s youth for a rapidly changing future.
- Officiated by Tengku Amir Shah, the launch aligns with Malaysia’s ASEAN 2025 Chairmanship and highlights the need for leadership, ethics, and resilience in next-gen learning.
- The new Chapter will drive regional collaboration, standardize entrepreneurship curricula, and support SDG4 through capacity building and innovation-focused education.
The launch of the UNESCO Entrepreneurship Education Network, or EE-Net, Southeast Asia Chapter, in Kuala Lumpur marked a defining moment for the region's commitment toward future-ready education and youth empowerment. Officiated by His Highness Tengku Amir Shah ibni Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Al-Haj, Crown Prince of Selangor, the event brought together regional leaders, policymakers, educators, and youth advocates at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre for an evening that blended diplomacy, culture, and strategic dialogue.
Jointly hosted by UNESCO, the Asia Institute of Sustainability, Entrepreneurship & Diplomacy, Intrinsic SEA, and the Selangor Youth Community, this initiative seeks to reshape the landscape of entrepreneurship education across ASEAN. In his keynote address, His Highness Tengku Amir Shah described the launch as a milestone that comes at a very pivotal moment when Southeast Asia, under the rapid change of technology, shifting demographics, and global uncertainties, demands a new paradigm in education.
He emphasized that entrepreneurship education must rise above traditional business training to become a leading force in shaping leadership, ethical decision-making, and resilience. His Highness iterated that the region’s youth should not only be capable of being part of the emerging economies but must be capable of leading them with vision and responsibility. He added that the initiative strongly resonates with Malaysia’s Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2025 and positions Selangor and the country as important conveners of partnerships across sustainability, innovation, and education.
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Ms. Maki Katsuno-Hayashikawa, Director of UNESCO's Regional Office in Jakarta, provided the broader regional context: pressing challenges faced by Asia-Pacific, from the staggering number of 127 million young people who remain out of school to the increasing digital divide. She emphasized that as AI and climate disruptions reshape industries and livelihoods, entrepreneurship education has to be embedded in the strategy for achieving SDG4, advocating for equitable and future-ready learning. The Southeast Asia Chapter, she added, would serve as an important avenue for policy collaboration, capacity sharing, and coordinated regional efforts towards transforming education systems.
Earlier in the evening, AiSED Chairman Dato’ Steve Cheah welcomed delegates and highlighted Malaysia’s pride in hosting UNESCO’s first EE-Net Chapter in the region. He noted that for ASEAN to achieve its aspiration for inclusive high-value growth, education must be underpinned by creativity, ethics, and sustainable innovation. The new Chapter is designed to be a regional mechanism that contributes to the UN SDGs, develops human capital, and standardises entrepreneurship curricula in ASEAN member countries.
The evening was also filled with cultural performances and a special awards segment, honoring leaders who have made a difference in innovation, public service, and global thought leadership. By the time the event closed, consensus was clear that the launch represents more than an institutional milestone it signals the rise of a regional movement committed to transforming how Southeast Asia prepares its youth for a fast-changing world.
