LeadCom's leadership camp in Davao

OVER the years, the country has witnessed the lack of ethics and moral values of some leaders that often led to abuse of power, thereby, bringing rise in yearning from the citizenry to install leaders who possess not only intelligence, but more importantly, integrity.

Hoping to address the current scenario, Globe Telecom has joined Ayala Foundation Inc. (AFI) in producing effective and trustworthy leaders out of young Filipinos through the Leadership Communities (LeadCom) program.

LeadCom is an AFI initiative that aims to develop, inspire, empower and nurture students into becoming future leaders of the country.

The Globe-AFI partnership in LeadCom started in Baguio, Benguet last month. The three-day leadership camp now goes to Davao City to give about 100 college students from nine participating schools in Southern Mindanao region a chance to serve their communities. The camp is also set to be held in Bukidnon, Camiguin, Cagayan de Oro, and Albay before yearend.

Participating schools are Ateneo de Davao University, Brokenshire College, Davao Doctors College, Holy Cross of Davao College, Philippine Women's College of Davao, San Pedro College, University of the Immaculate Conception, University of Mindanao and University of the Philippines-Mindanao.

"Globe is committed to helping transform the youth into future leaders through ICT. We know the importance of communications, both mobile and internet, in making the youth connected, informed, and empowered. AFI, on the other hand, is also dedicated to developing young leaders. Thus, LeadCom has become an important platform where we and AFI can collaborate on this common goal," said Rob I. Nazal, head of Globe Corporate Social Responsibility.

At the end of the congress, LeadCom participants will be tasked to translate their leadership learnings into project proposals, which will benefit their chosen community or school. Small grants will be given to leadership teams to help them mobilize, plan and implement their project within a three-month timeframe.

For its part, Globe will choose two groups to be given a separate grant of as much as P50,000 each. The recipient of the BridgeCom Fund for Social Innovation must be able to come up with out-of-the-box solution to a community problem while the one picked for the BridgeCom Fund for Sustainability should be able to develop a project for either the school or community that can be implemented over a long period of time. Bridging Communities (BridgeCom) is the CSR arm of Globe.

"We believe that our youth possess the creativity and energy to come up with solutions to practical problems that beset their schools and their communities. We want them to show a practical demo of skills that they will learn from the congress," Nazal said.

Likewise, Globe will provide the students with free Globe BridgeCom SIM cards to give them an opportunity to be linked to BridgeCom, which is currently building a movement of youth leaders around the country.

Through the Globe Regional Sales team, free internet connection, freebies during the fellowship night, additional discounted pre-paid SIMs and free air-time incentive for the participants' calling circle will also be provided during the three-day activity.

"We are excited to have the first LeadCom in Mindanao here in Davao City. We care for the youth of Davao and we encourage them to become active, value-adding members in their communities," said Benjamin Garcia, Globe Sales head for Southern Mindanao.