Cebu young leaders dream for a better world
SOME 120 Cebuano young leaders from various schools, volunteer movements and professional organizations attended the first Dream Expo Cebu last September 27 to 28 held at the RAFI Eduardo Aboitiz Development Studies Center.
The two-day activity that featured 10 of the established social movers and entrepreneurs of the country aimed to inspire the youth to shape and start their own social innovations that will build better communities and transform lives.
The event was organized by the Global Shapers Cebu Hub in collaboration with The Dream Project PH, a Negros-based non-profit community initiative that is responsible for launching all Dream Expos across the country.
“The Dream Expo - CEBU is the fifth run of The Dream Expo…It was our most diverse participation in terms of demographics, profession/field of specialization, advocacy and citizenship and it was our most vibrant and solid audience,” said Prim Paypon, founder of The Dream Project.
Speakers and mentors focused their talks on Citizen engagement, Environmental conservation, Business development and Universal education or C.E.B.U. These are the founding pillars of the Global Shapers Cebu Hub.
Inspiring innovators included Sen. Bam Aquino IV (youngest Philippine senator and social entrepreneur); Carol Ballesteros (program manager of Mega Cebu), Mark Lawrence Cruz (head of new initiatives of Gawad Kalinga), Melvin Legaspi (co-founder of Basadours); Prim Paypon (founder of The Dream Project PH); Chip Lopez (founder of The Lazy Chef); Jay Aldeguer (founder and CEO of The Islands Group); Anya Lim (co-Founder and managing director of ANTHILL Fabric Gallery), Nestor Archival (owner of the Archival Eco-House) and Ryan Aguas (cofounder of Bahay Kubo Organics).
The participants were given the opportunity to pitch their innovative ideas and seek consultation from the mentors. Among all the ideas presented, “IPuso,” a program pitched by 20-year old USC student Danica Blanche Fernandez was chosen to be further developed with the help of the Global Shapers Cebu Hub.
The program is geared towards reviving the pusó (hanging rice) weaving culture of Cebu. “The Dream Expo empowered our youth leaders with an essential idea—that we must always seek and strive for a social impact. As the Cebuano youth, each of us has to step up and go beyond ourselves,” shared Franco Soberano, founding member and project anchor of Global Shapers Cebu.
The event was also supported by Cebu Landmasters, RAFI Eduardo Aboitiz Development Studies Center, LH Foundation, The Islands Group, Sacred Heart School Ateneo de Cebu Alumni Association and Bo’s Coffee.