At Compass Education, we believe meaningful change happens when young people are equipped with tools to understand complexity and lead with confidence. This vision came to life in a one-year long collaboration between WWF Myanmar, and CE’s close partner Systainability Asia, along with a remarkable team of youth from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam, to co-developed the Greater Mekong Youth Eco-Leader Guide – a practical resource to support youth leaders and educators in advancing sustainability with their schools and communities, The guide addresses three urgent issues: the sustainable management of freshwater ecosystems, climate change, and the shift toward renewable energy. The guide is now available online through WWF’s Eco-Leader platform.
Two of Compass Education’s core systems thinking tools are highlighted in the guide: The Sustainability Compass and The Amoeba of Cultural Change.
Co-Creation with Youth - Empowering the Young Changemakers
What makes this guide unique is its youth-centered design process. Facilitated and authored by our team — Robert Steele and myself, Watkana Thongrueng (Nong) — the guide took shape through an iterative design thinking cycle of dialogues, workshops, testing, and feedback.
The Eco-Leader Guide is more than a publication – it is a step toward building a community of empowered eco-leaders across the Mekong region and beyond. We hope it inspires educators and youth practitioners, not just in the Mekong, but anywhere in the world, to embrace systems thinking, nurture leadership, and foster a culture of sustainable change. We encourage you to explore the guide and adapt it to your own context.
Explore the guide here: Eco-Leader Guide
Author
Watkana Thongrueng
Watkana Thongrueng (Nong) is the Operations Director for Compass Education, providing organizational and administrative support for the education programs and Compass trainers across the globe. In addition to her work with Compass Education, Nong is an independent consultant and educator supporting the implementation of sustainable and ethical agriculture standards in Thailand. Nong provides in-country support and training for international companies and organizations including; FairAgora Asia, Starbucks, the World Wildlife Fund and the United Nations. Nong grew up in a farm family in central Thailand before receiving her degree in Marine Science. She is passionate about educating the Thai people to develop lifestyles that protect and prioritize the environment. She believes that the best leadership is by example and she contributes to her community actively. In 2015, she was a trainer for the Network for Sustainable Development supporting the “Livable and Happiness City project” in 33 provinces. Nong contributed to the development of the Climate Change Education Framework for Thailand in collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQP).
