“The center of struggle today is in our communities: if you act on your community today, you can solve the problems of the world in concert with other young men and women,” UP President Angelo Jimenez told youth leaders on October 28, in a forum hosted by the University of the Philippines Centre International de Formation des Autorités et Leaders (UP-CIFAL).
“Amplifying Voices: Fostering Youth Involvement for Sustainable Development” brought together student leaders and advocates of youth empowerment from various schools and organizations all over the country as they exchanged insights on and lessons in advancing the United Nations’ (UN) 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through youth-led initiatives. The forum was held at the Malcolm Theater in UP Diliman (UPD),
Challenging existing norms, such as “bata ka pa, wala kang magagawa,” Alfred Opiz-Dicto of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Philippines asserted that youth participation is a right, and government and other duty-bearers must secure it by enabling a participatory environment at the grassroots level through actively working with the youth, not only in development programs but also in governance and policy-making.
Tasha Mañosa-Tanjutco, co-founder of the creative consultancy, Tayo, also urged that “in order to really create active change for young people. . . governments, our leaders, and adults shouldn’t see young people as tokens in forums or in talks, but they need to see us young people as people with dreams” especially in partnerships and collaborations.
The youth can also be mobilized to advance the SGDs in various ways, according to Ranze Calderon, executive director of the 2030 Youth Force in the Philippines (YFPH). He shared some of their organization’s strategies, such as: online hubs and discussions; lobbying efforts’ and partnering with youth organizations to craft an electoral youth agenda for sustainable development to help young voters discern the platforms of candidates during elections.
“Regardless of what platform, whether on ground, online, or kung nasaan ka man, there are a lot of things that can be done and can be used in order for you to achieve the SDGs,” Calderon said.
The forum is part of the day-long activities of UP-CIFAL’s “Leaders of Tomorrow: Developing Pathways for a Sustainable Future” in commemoration of UN Day, which was held in partnership with the National Youth Commission, the UN Development Programme, the 2030 YFPH, the Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines, and the UP Volunteers for Children.
The morning session of the forum marked the launch of the “Susie of Sustainability” children’s book series on the SGDs, which was developed in collaboration with Development Communication students from UP Los Baños.
