Effective Advocacy is the de facto ASEAN chapter for the Global AI Youth Network (GAIN).

background

GAIN is a spin-off organization, initially functioning as the international division for the youth AI safety advocacy organization Encode. Encode International has, in the past: delivered testimony at UN negotiations to call on nations around the globe to support a legally binding treaty on autonomous weapons systems, developed technical white papers on autonomous weapons systems and presented findings to diplomatic delegations, and submitted consultations to the UN, UNESCO, EU Commission, and several global safety summits on topics ranging from bridging the global AI divide to the future of privacy. Our international network currently consists of 20 hubs.

our aims

As an ASEAN-based organization focusing on youth advocacy, we hope to:

1. Further ASEAN representation in AI safety by amplifying discourse that considers the impacts of policy choices on people in ASEAN nations, bringing pragmatic governance ideals and lessons inspired by ASEAN nations to the broader AI safety community, and building structured AI literacy and capacity programs.
2. Drive socio-technical, linguistic, and cultural inclusion by engaging with frontier labs to extend critical safety considerations, alignment protocols, and evaluations to under-resourced ASEAN languages, ensuring models are attuned to the region's diverse socio-political contexts and cultural nuances.
3. Form coalitions with technocrats, civil societies, governments, and decision-makers to ensure youth voices are represented when crafting the AI policies that will shape our futures.

active initiatives

1. Increasing ASEAN representation in the field through coalition-building, open letters, and outreach.
2. Tackling the rise of anthropomorphizing AI chatbots, which rely on predatory and deceitful business practices targeted at youth - some of which are already illegal under the scope of existing laws.
3. Hosting an ASEAN/APAC technical hackathon (August 21-23, 2026) to build hands-on AI safety capacity and surface regional talent.

Effective international AI governance may come down to a few critical diplomatic moments. But the infrastructure to ensure it goes well will be built through years of domestic coalition-building, political relationship development, and research accumulation - so that when key international negotiating windows open, a prepared and credible network is already positioned to act.