A collective dream for Cebu
The Global Shapers Cebu held the first Dream Festival: A Grand Celebration of the Collective Dream of the Youth of Cebu last Oct. 19 at the Terraces, Ayala Center Cebu. At the festival, the Cebu hub revealed the youth’s collective dream aptly called S.H.A.P.E. Cebu—a Sustainable Holistic, Accessible, Productive and Engaged Cebu.
These specific attributes were carefully explained by curator Franco Soberano and vice-curator Mel Yan. The grand reveal of the youth’s collective dream was a culmination of a year-long campaign to collect dreams from the youth in corporations, classrooms, and communities.
“We felt that we were successful in showcasing the rich cultural heritage of Cebu and the Philippines. This success could be attributed not just to the hard work of the Global Shapers Cebu, but also to the talent and genuine hospitality shown by everyone involved. After all, cultural heritage is more than just old structures and artifacts. It is, first and foremost, expressed in the identify that defines us as a people,” said Mel Yan, Global Shapers Cebu curator.
Speakers from different sectors shared their dream at the festival. Miss Cebu 2016 Raine Baljak engaged in an interview about her work as a natural farmer and environmental conservationist. Spiritual educator Bobby Gothong shared his dream of revolutionizing the public school system.
Advocacies
Young entrepreneur Michael Karlo Lim of Sugbo Mercado talked about his passion to help small businesses, and artist group Sutukil Sauce discussed how to use art for citizen engagement.
Advocacy groups set up booths to call out for youth volunteers. Let’s do it Philippines and Kadasig represented citizen engagement. Save Philippine Seas and the Archdiocese of Cebu Committee on Environmental Concerns represented environmental conservation. The Islands Inclusive Business Program and DTI Go Negosyo represented business development. The Basadours and the Philippine Accessible Disability Services (PADS) represented universal education.
Musical performances from empowered youth artists and influencers also enlivened the fes- tival. Participants were serenaded by Bethany, the 2B Boys, and the Mother Folker, Cattski Espina.
Empowered youth
The Global Shapers is the youth leg of the World Economic Forum. The Cebu hub is composed of 16 young empowered individuals from different fields that have come together to improve the state of our city, Cebu. From the Dream Festival, they are set to work on the collective dream with the youth this 2017.
“It’s surreal seeing something that was just on paper come to life in almost exactly the way we imagined it to. I remember only jokingly calling the design of our conference, “CEBus”. We placed the bid two years ago to host a SHAPE event because at the very core that unites us as a Hub is our collective sentiment that we love Cebu and we wanted to showcase to the world why we do. I think that’s why our participants saw that and even fell in love with Cebu! That’s always
been the heart of our planning and execution process,” said Maan Briones-Ting, one of the members, said.
The Dream Festival, a one-of-a-kind event of youth empowerment, would not have been possible if not for Global Shapers Cebu’s dream partners. Ayala Center Cebu co-presented the event. Citadines Hotel, The Islands Group, Gothong Southern, and Azpired are their major partners. For more information about the hub and the happenings at the Dream Festival, go to the Global Shapers Cebu Facebook Page.