To help Filipino youth be #AseanReady, the Asean Youth Community (AYC), a regional youth empowerment program based in Singapore, launched its presence in the Philippines through its local partner YGOAL, Inc.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the country’s median age is 23 years old and Filipinos aged 15-34 years old make-up over 45.1 percent of the country’s labor force.
The 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) brings technological advances that are changing the nature of work. This rapidly changing landscape requires young people to develop 21st century skills in order to adapt and thrive not only in the Philippines, but as part of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) which aspires to be the fourth largest economic bloc by 2030.
“AYC in the Philippines aims to empower youth to be AseanReady by enabling opportunities to increase employability and develop entrepreneurship among ASEAN youth by integrating 21st-century skills with leadership practice in community development,” said JR Demecais, AYC country director and YGOAL president.
AYC seeks the mentorship of a network of enablers to coordinate its efforts across regional organizations, such as the ASEAN Foundation, UN Asia-Pacific youth interagency network, Ramon Magsaysay Awards Foundation (RMAF).
Though it is not part of the ASEAN Ministerial Sectoral bodies, AYC promotes ASEAN Community Building as a youth-led civic initiative. AYC is also establishing a mentoring partnership with RMAF to ensure that the generation of emerging leaders are guided by changemakers across the region who have grounded years of experience in social development.
For its initial campaign, AYC Philippines will hold a three-day pilot boot camp on November 15-17 across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Anyone between 19 and 40 years old may apply for AYC’s boot camp.
