SIXTY youth from various towns in Basilan province underwent a four-day leadership training conducted by the Bangsamoro Youth Commission (BYC) and its partners, aimed at harnessing young people's potential to lead community development.
The leadership training, dubbed Project Empowering Youth Mechanisms, Enhancing Regional Governance Engagements (Emerge), was conducted last week in Lamitan City, Basilan.
BYC Commissioner for Basilan Hamdie Tanjil said Tuesday, December 16, 2025, that the training has focused on strengthening community-rooted leadership and civic engagement among participants.
Tanjil said using participatory and activity-based modules, the program featured workshops designed to equip youth with practical skills to lead and mobilize youth-led advocacy groups within their communities and schools.
Tanjil said the initiative reaffirms the BYC's commitment to cultivating transformative leaders who can help rebuild and strengthen post-conflict communities.
He said the training was funded through the Transitional Development Impact Fund of Member of Parliament Abrar Hataman and co-implemented by Integrated Democracy and Development for Meaningful Progress Inc.
Hataman encouraged participants to carry their learning beyond the training and contribute to broader efforts toward social transformation.
The BYC, as part of its mandate, supports and facilitates the creation of youth-led and youth-serving organizations that contribute to community building across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. (SunStar Zamboanga)