Disasters pose a substantial and growing threat to children and youth's well-being, and climate change is a rising threat to the environment and livelihood, including the survival and well-being of future generations. However, children and youth continue to be on the frontlines in combating climate change and building resilience in their communities. There have been consultative and robust research on child-centred risk reduction and school safety developed globally and in Asia-Pacific. Drawing from the findings, we highlight young people’s voices and perspectives in urging governments, DRR partners, and practitioners to undertake the following actions in line with the underlying goals of the 10th APMCDRR.

This report, “Advocates for Change: Asia Pacific Children and Youth’s Voices & Perspectives on Climate Action and Disaster Risk Reduction”, is the result of the collaboration between partners from different development organizations. This project commenced in May 2024 and culminated in the launch of the report in October 2024 by the Asia Pacific Coalition for School Safety (APCSS).

More than 8 million vulnerable children and families across East Asia were positively impacted by our programmes in 2022. Additionally, through our engagement with governments and advocacy networks, we contributed to 142 policy changes, creating a more positive enabling environment for 44 million vulnerable children to access their rights, harness opportunities, and achieve their potential. In response to the growing and complex challenges within East Asia, we are deepening our commitment to serve the most vulnerable girls and boys through a greater focus on building community resilience to climate change, addressing the impacts of migration and displacement on children, and working with partners to support policy and systems-level change.

Understanding the Effectiveness, Impact, Sustainability, and Scalability of World Vision’s Disaster Risk Reduction Activities in the Asia-Pacific Region

This policy brief provides a call to action for development partners of Viet Nam and Thailand as the primary destination of choice for Vietnamese migrants, to address key drivers of distress migration in communities of origin and to make migration safer, more humane and more just for Vietnamese parents and children alike, providing more support for those who stay behind and those who go, empowering children to help shape a better future for themselves.

This policy brief provides a call to action for development partners in Cambodia and Thailand, the primary destination for Cambodian migrants to address key drivers of distress migration in communities of origin. It advocates for making migration safer, more humane, and more equitable for Cambodian parents and children, while also providing greater support for those who remain behind and those who migrate. By empowering children to actively shape a better future for themselves, this approach aims to create lasting positive change in the lives of all involved.

In 2019, World Vision in Asia-Pacific has reached 811,400 people and 465,300 children, across 17 countries, through an array of DRR programmatic interventions which include, Early Warning & Early Action, Safe School Initiatives Community Based Disaster, Risk Management, Climate Change Adaptat

For more than 60 years, World Vision has worked with the poorest in the Asia-Pacific. Today, World Vision works in 24 countries across the region supported by nearly 15,000 staff. Close to six hundred long-term development programmes benefit 1.4 million sponsored children and their families.