Manila, Aug. 5 -- The Philippines, as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), formally opened on Wednesday the ASEAN Youth Summit 2026 as part of its push to produce a more "digitally-responsible" youth in the region.

The summit gathers youth leaders from across ASEAN to elicit insights on ways to shape the bloc's policies on digitalization, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital resilience.

"Throughout the summit, we must bravely confront a fundamental question that will guide our dialogues and every decision we make: To whom is the digital ASEAN really built for?" Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian said in his opening statement at the Philippine International Conventio...