On 18-22 November, nine New Colombo Plan (NCP) scholars visited Kuala Lumpur to attend the ASEAN+ Young Leaders Summit (AYLS) and a business function hosted by the Australian High Commission in honour of Prime Minister Turnbull's visit to Malaysia.

Under the banner "Maximizing Young Leaders Potential Towards One ASEAN Community", the Malaysian Ministry of Youth and Sports hosted the first AYLS. The event attracted over 300 participants from ASEAN member states, the ASEAN dialogue partners, and Timor Leste, and provided a useful platform for the NCP scholars to network and learn about key regional issues under four pillars: Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Volunteerism; and Education and Employment.

The scholars had the opportunity to engage the local community through a community based activity and contribute to regional policy through a peer-to-peer dialogue, during which a Youth Manifesto for ASEAN was developed and aimed at addressing key issues under the four pillars. This was presented at the 27th ASEAN Summit on 21 November.

Following the AYLS, the scholars had an afternoon tea with the DFAT Secretary, Peter Varghese, to discuss the AYLS and their NCP scholarship experiences. The scholars then attended business reception at the Australian High Commission in honour of Prime Minister Turnbull's visit to Malaysia. This was the first opportunity for the scholars to share their NCP experiences with the Prime Minister. The scholars praised the program and emphasised the unique cultural perspectives they had obtained from studying and working in the region. The Prime Minister was impressed by the scholars enthusiastic immersion in local culture.

The NCP scholars in attendance were Mr. Tyce Barton (Malaysia), Mr. Thomas Brown (Indonesia), Ms. Caitlin Du Chateau (Philippines), Mr. Mitchell Francis (Malaysia), Ms. Hannah John (Cambodia), Mr. Anton Lucanas (Singapore), Ms. Sonia Parulekar (Malaysia), Ms. Alana Tolman (Brunei Darussalam), and Mr. Jotham Young (Malaysia).