Happened last June 17, 2018 over at National University, Youth Speak Forum 2018 by AIESEC in the Philippines gathered over 334 young leaders from across the country ready to voice out their opinions on different issues and ready to build with youth!
The event was formally opened by a series of dances – a tradition by AIESEC to break the ice and for delegates to feel a lot comfortable. After everything settled down, President of AIESEC in the Philippines, Marc Wernicke gave the opening remarks. Followed by Atty. Jose Diokno where he talked about fighting for the truth and discerning what is real among the lies.
The delegates are then divided into three tracks and each has three to four notable speakers to talk about their advocacy. RJ Naguit, Cha Roque, Eiroll Manalo and Marc Siapno for Human Rights and Welfare Track. Josef Werker, Hazel Gil, and Michelle Manza for Truthful Information track. Mary Imbong, JB Tan, and Eah Antonio for Bridging Diversity Track.
All throughout the event, an opportunities fair was made open for everyone! The delegates went around and met our organizational partners and joined the fun activities they have prepared. They didn’t shy away from asking questions about their platform and advocacy.
For the afternoon session, the pitching competition took place. Young leaders are randomly grouped according to their track and were required to pitch for a purpose! They are tasked to create a social civic project that could run for in the course of at least three months. The winning team is from the Bridging Diversity track, namely John Jimenez, Joshua Cabrera, Jastine Aquino, Janrose Jamer, and Josh Valentin. They created The POWER Project. Their proposal is for fostering an inclusive environment for self-development for the Filipino youth, with or without special needs, ultimately realizing their human dignity.
Miguel Lopez delivered his closing remarks where he also gifted us a video from Ms. Gina Lopez!
Youth Speak Forum 2018 was a day of full of sessions, questions and answers, discussions and interactions. But more importantly, it was the day the youth got inspired, engaged and will continuously act! Building with youth doesn’t end here, but rather, just the beginning.
Tune in on our social media accounts for the next Youth Speak Forum www.facebook.com/YouthSpeakPH! To know more about AIESEC, visit our website at www.aiesec.org. Follow us also on www.facebook.com/AIESECPH for more updates!
Let’s get to work, young leaders!
