The Youth Leadership for Democracy (YouthLed), in collaboration with the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI), is bringing together 1,000 Filipino youth leaders in Cebu City for the Youth Leaders Summit 2023 on September 29-30, 2023.
YouthLed, a joint project of the United States Agency for International Development and The Asia Foundation, will showcase various youth-led efforts and projects geared toward strengthening youth participation in democratic governance.
The Youth Leaders Summit 2023 holds paramount importance as it features the first public presentation of the Philippine Youth Development Plan (PYDP) led by the National Youth Commission.
The PYDP serves as a roadmap for the future of Filipino youth charting strategies and policies relative to their active participation in nation-building.
The five-year plan (2023-2028) sets forth a comprehensive framework on youth development to which the government, private sector, academe, and civil society can anchor their programs.
The Summit will serve as a platform where these key sectors can explore ways to actualize the plan into localized, action-oriented solutions.
“Strengthening youth’s participation in democratic governance is a collaborative imperative. We are proud to be working alongside the National Youth Commission and Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. in collectively shaping this summit into a dynamic platform, forging an enabling environment where the energy and ideas of young leaders can flourish and drive meaningful change,” YouthLed Chief of Party Natalie Christine Jorge said.
At the summit, Filipino youth leaders will also have the opportunity to contribute and declare their commitment to localizing the PYDP, ensuring that the youth’s voices and aspirations are heard and integrated into the nation's future.
This year's theme, “ARANGKADA (Accelerate): Gearing Towards Sustainable Youth Coalitions,” encapsulates the essence of the Summit with the showcase of various youth-led initiatives across the nation. Twelve YouthLed-supported coalitions will exhibit their advocacies and projects to highlight their work and encourage more youth leaders to join and participate in their coalition.
The summit will also serve as a catalyst for building stronger alliances among youth networks and facilitating meaningful engagement with key stakeholders in government, the private sector, and civil society.
The Youth Leaders Summit will be streamed live via YouthLed PH (@YouthLedPH) and Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (@rafi.org.ph) official Facebook pages.