PAST EVENT – What Societies Tell Us: The Indo-Pacific from Within
INVITATION
IN-PERSON EVENT
Young Indo-Pacific Forum 2026
What Societies Tell Us: The Indo-Pacific from Within
Date: Friday, 18 September 2026
Time: 9:30am – 4:45pm
Venue: EIAS, Rue de la Loi 26, 10th Floor, B-1040 Brussels
The event will be followed by a networking reception
Young Indo-Pacific Forum 2026: What Societies Tell Us – The Indo-Pacific from Within
How are economic transformation, democratic resilience and changing identities reshaping societies across the Indo-Pacific?
On Friday, 18 September 2026, the Young Indo-Pacific Forum (YIPF) returns to Brussels for a day of discussion focused on the lived experiences of people across the region.
Hosted at the European Institute for Asian Studies (EIAS), YIPF 2026 will bring together young researchers and policy voices alongside experts and practitioners to move beyond traditional geopolitical debates and examine the Indo-Pacific from within.
While the Indo-Pacific is often discussed through the language of strategy, alignment, deterrence and resilience, this year’s forum asks how political, economic and social transformations are being experienced by the people living through them.
The programme will centre on three expert panels and open dialogue:
Economic Transformation & Social Precarity will explore how unemployment, AI disruption, labour migration and rising costs of living are reshaping the prospects of younger generations across the Indo-Pacific and Europe and how these pressures influence political choices and outlooks.
Political Trust & Democratic Resilience will examine what happens when political participation fails to produce meaningful change, and how nationalism, geopolitical shifts and declining institutional trust are transforming political engagement and encouraging new informal networks of solidarity.
Identity, Belonging & Social Cohesion will look at how competing narratives of unity and division, changing perceptions of China and the United States, and national and religious identities are shaping social change, including debates around gender and minority rights.
Across the day, discussions will connect themes including AI and the future of work, labour migration, youth political engagement, democratic accountability, nationalism and identity, gender and minority rights, cost-of-living pressures, and Indo-Pacific–EU dialogue.
The forum is designed as a space for young researchers, policy voices and established experts to exchange perspectives openly, with three expert panels followed by opportunities for dialogue and discussion.
📅 18 September 2026
📍 EIAS, Rue de la Loi 26, 10th Floor, 1040 Brussels
Programme
16:15 – 16:45 Closing remarks
09:30 – 10:00 Arrival and registration
10:00 – 10:30 Welcome speech and introduction
10:30 – 12:00 Panel 1: Economic Transformation and Social Precarity
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch (provided by EIAS)
13:00 – 14:30 Panel 2: Political Trust and Democratic Resilience
14:30 – 14:45 Short break
14:45 – 16:15 Panel 3: Identity, Belonging and Social Cohesion
Photo credits: European Guanxi