YOUTH LEADERS UNITE FOR 2022 ELECTIONS COUNTDOWN

As a symbolic action by the youth in preparation for the 2022 elections, youth organizations, leaders and individuals came together to launch the development of a National Youth Agenda on May 9.

Born out of the initiative of youth leaders across the Philippines who convened through a series of youth summits nationwide since 2019, the National Youth Agenda serves as a strategic roadmap toward the youth’s shared vision for the country.

The assembly was organized by We the Future PH, an independent national movement of young people for human rights and democracy.

“The National Youth Agenda is our road map toward genuine social change. It is not a wish list, nor a list of rants of the youth. It’s a document that offers ambitiously attainable objectives that we propose toward achieving what we want for our country,” said We the Future PH spokesperson Wynona Galvez.

“The youth is calling for positive social change in the country and the National Youth Agenda allows us a practical guide toward attaining this change.

The National Youth Assembly is being organized to provide a space for the youth to discuss issues that are important to them, share their stance on relevant key issues, and come up with plans and campaigns in different areas across the Philippines.

It aims to be an initial platform for the youth to organize themselves, in a critical time when the country continues to grapple with difficulties amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the government persists in its inadequate response and its violation of multiple fundamental human rights.

“Now more than ever, we must come together to respond to the challenges of our times and to reimagine and wield a better future for our nation,” said Krishna Ariola, a Bacolod-based youth leader of Youth for Climate Hope.

According to Madelene de Borja, a former UP Public Administration student leader and current youth engagement manager of Active Vista, “As the one-year countdown to the 2022 national elections begins, we call on our fellow youth to join us in developing the Youth Agenda at the local and national levels and craft strategic actions and campaigns that will create meaningful change in our communities and society.”

The We the Future PH: National Youth Assembly is organized by We the Future PH in partnership with artist-activist collective Dakila and its human rights education center Active Vista.