## Passing the Baton

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**Canonical URL:** [Passing the Baton](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2018/september/southeast-asian-youth-on-the-future-overman.pdf)

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### Regional snapshot
- More than half of the population of Southeast Asia is under 30.
- Technology shapes the way youth in the region live and work, even as they adapt it to their own unique circumstances.
- In some ways, these young people will inherit a better world than their parents knew, with higher income potential, increased access to education, and vast technological possibilities.
- They will also face serious issues, such as the problem of climate change and challenges to openness and human rights.
- According to the World Economic Forum’s 2017 Global Shapers survey, nearly half of all young people rank climate change and the destruction of nature as the most serious issues affecting the world today.
- The IMF finds that, in addition to its harmful effects on health, climate change has potentially sizable economic costs.

### Bright lights, big city — Sreynith Hak (Phnom Penh, Cambodia)
- Profile:
  - Sreynith Hak, 25, moved to Phnom Penh eight years ago to pursue a bachelor’s degree in media management.
  - Works as a freelance editor and film producer.
  - Her mother is a teacher whose parents were killed by the Khmer Rouge.
- Social and economic findings:
  - In 2014, 84 percent of employed women 15 and older had a primary school education or less, compared with 76 percent of employed men, according to the Asian Development Bank’s Promoting Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cambodia.
  - Nearly 60 percent of rural migrant women move to Phnom Penh, says the Asian Development Bank.
  - Even though poverty rates have fallen, Cambodian girls and women experience greater vulnerability as a result of prevailing social norms and have less access to resources and job opportunities than boys and men.
- Personal experiences:
  - As a freelancer, Hak sets money aside month to month in case her pipeline of projects runs dry: “You have to be flexible in how much you spend each month.”
  - She reports experiencing street harassment when returning home late from video shoots.
  - Family expectations: parents would prefer a salaried position for her, though her mother accepts her choice and acknowledges her improved prospects relative to previous generations.
- Aspirations:
  - “I have my own timeline, my own clock,” Hak says. “I want to prove to people that I can do it—maybe even better than some guy.”

### The last straw — Pocholo Espina (Manila, Philippines)
- Profile and business:
  - Pocholo Espina, 22, founder and CEO of Sip PH, which makes and distributes stainless steel straws.
  - Invested 40,000 pesos of his savings to start the company after identifying demand while a student at Ateneo de Manila University.
  - Grew from word-of-mouth customers to thousands of orders through social media and a few shops in Manila; was interviewed on CNN Philippines.
- Environmental context:
  - The Philippines is composed of 7,641 islands and is located in the “Coral Triangle,” an area recognized as the global center of marine biodiversity (includes portions of the waters of the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands).
  - The Coral Triangle’s marine life comprises coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangrove and beach forests, fisheries, other invertebrates, seaweed, and marine mammals.
  - Sip PH’s website says that the Philippines is the third largest disposer of ocean plastic in the world.
  - The Philippines bans incineration of trash, and the disposal of solid waste poses a major challenge.
  - Global actions: Starbucks announced its plan to phase out plastic straws.
- Motivations and trade-offs:
  - Espina embraced the zero-waste movement; he views giving up plastic straws as “a small sacrifice ordinary people can make every day.”
  - On balancing mission and sustainability: “People often ask, in a social enterprise, which is more important—the social aspect or the enterprise aspect? Well, it has to be the enterprise, because without that there wouldn’t be a social impact.”
- Broader youth sentiment:
  - Espina’s concern for the environment is described as typical of his generation, aligning with survey findings that many young people prioritize climate and nature issues.

### The future of farming — Shofyan Adi Cahyono (Merbabu, Central Java, Indonesia)
- Profile:
  - Shofyan Adi Cahyono, 22, returned to modernize his father’s farm in the highlands of central Java after studying agrotechnology at Satya Wacana Christian University.
  - His family’s land benefits from volcanic, fertile soil.
- Technological and market innovations:
  - Uses information technology to sell directly to produce distributors, restaurants, cafes, hotels, and supermarkets, eliminating the middleman.
  - Employs a preorder system managed via WhatsApp messages to coordinate harvesting and preserve freshness during delivery.
  - Across Asia, farmers are beginning to use digital technologies and drones for market information, yield forecasting, crop-disease identification, and fertilizer assessment.
- Product and demand trends:
  - Organic farming is booming as Asia’s rising middle class grows wary of the health dangers posed by pesticides.
  - A growing number of cafes and restaurants in Indonesia offer organic fruit and vegetables, creating market opportunities.
- Cultural and social notes:
  - Among agricultural Javanese, land is important to be passed down as a legacy for the next generation.
  - Cahyono seeks to change perceptions: “Farming is considered a low job,” and he aims to demonstrate that the agricultural sector is promising.
  - He emphasizes creativity in farming and shares knowledge to inspire more young people to become farmers.

### Synthesis — implications and policy-relevant themes from the profiles
- Youth opportunities and constraints:
  - Higher education, entrepreneurship, and digital technologies are expanding income and career prospects for Southeast Asian youth.
  - Social norms, gender disparities, and urban safety concerns remain barriers, particularly for women.
- Environment and sustainability:
  - Young entrepreneurs are addressing environmental challenges at the consumer and local enterprise levels (e.g., reusable straws, organic farming), reflecting broader youth concern about climate change and nature.
  - Solid waste and ocean plastic are significant national and regional policy challenges.
- Technology and rural transformation:
  - Digital tools (market information, direct sales via messaging apps, drones) can raise farm profitability by reducing middlemen and improving production planning.
- Enterprise sustainability:
  - Social enterprises must balance social objectives with commercial viability to generate sustained impact.

*Source: Passing the Baton — profiles of Southeast Asian youth; Finance & Development, September 2018*

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2018/september/southeast-asian-youth-on-the-future-overman.pdf_