Image: Open to participants ages 18-35 from the United States, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. This series brings together young people for cross-cultural conversations focused on sharedhistories, healing, and community connection. Program Details: All sessions held on Zoom and conducted in English. To learn more, apply below. Apply now:https://bit.ly/sharedlegaciesandfuture Young Professionals Dialogues 2026 Thursday, March 5 from 5-7 pm PST or 8-10 pm EST // Friday, March 6 at 8-10 am ICT (Indochina time) Description This program welcomes applications from students and young professionals ages 18-35 years old who are of American, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, or Thai backgrounds. Shared Legacies, Shared Future Dialogues foster collaborative cross-cultural discussions, bringing together Southeast Asian and American youth to build meaningful connections between communities shaped by shared histories and aspirations for a brighter future. By engaging young people, the program acknowledges their unique and vital role in shaping the future of U.S.-Southeast Asia relations and addressing the social, cultural, and environmental legacies of past conflicts. Participants will engage in dialogue and joint action, becoming advocates for reconciliation within their communities and bridge generational and cultural divides. This initiative empowers the next generation to lead efforts toward mutual understanding, healing, and collaboration. Throughout 2026, PeaceTrees and Southeast Asian Peace Institute will host a series of youth dialogues in partnership with organizations from Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. After the dialogues in January and March, committed participants who demonstrated high engagement will be selected to join youth leadership cohorts. These groups will meet later in the year and will consist of a mixed collective of students and young professionals based in Southeast Asia and the U.S. who will collaborate on meaningful projects of their choice. Expected results of the dialogue • Participants get to know each other and exchange ideas and experiences of Southeast Asia and the U.S.• Ideas for subsequent online or in-person events bringing Southeast Asian and American youth together to push forward dialogue on U.S.-Southeast Asian relations. Format Outreach will be done in the U.S. and in Southeast Asia to recruit participants. Our goal is to have roughly equal numbers of U.S. and Southeast Asian participants in the dialogue. All dialogues will be conducted on Zoom, entirely in English and will be two (2) hours long. Dialogues will include experts and speakers based in the U.S. and Southeast Asia, Q&A sessions, and small breakout sessions for participants to have discussion on various topics. The dialogue agenda may be adjusted to follow a different format based on participant feedback. The hosting organizations will send an online evaluation/feedback form after the dialogue to share their impressions. Reminders will be sent out before each dialogue. The dialogue will not be open to the public. Participants may post about it on social media, but without identifying names of other participants without their agreement. The host organization will write a summary of the discussion in the dialogue in a future report, while preserving the confidentiality of participants.
