by Gimar Reyes

Collaboration between the youth and the government is an indispensable component for making Cagayan de Oro City an improved and stronger community.

In the summer of 1996, the Kristohanong Katilingban sa Pagpakabana (KKP) together with counterpart offices in Ateneo de Davao and Ateneo de Zamboanga facilitated a project called, “Summer of Service.” KKP Summer of Service (SOS) was organized to address the pressing issues encountered by our City through unified youth involvement and empowerment. The project was also designed to address the challenges of nurturing the successor generation for social development work.

For this year’s SOS, KKP Youth Volunteers and the Office of Public Information of the city government will partner in carrying out social advocacy through effective media and communications. Its goal is to help the City government execute transparency and accountability by maximizing the skills of the youth in utilizing social media and other avenues for giving information to the public. A major goal of the project is providing relevant, adequate and timely information to residents of the city, as well as keeping them abreast of the action plans of the city government. The XU-KKP youth volunteers and SOS participants are guided by two Faculty Program Officers, namely: Jannina Alfante and Farina Roa.

According to City Information Officer Maricel Rivera, “Information is very important in the delivery of services” to address criticisms and show that the government is working to address peoples’ concerns and needs. She emphasized that extracting accountability from the government is everyone’s look out. In the long run, she hopes that this would bring about public trust and a more positive relationship between this City Government and the people it is serving.

Xavier University KKP-SIO envisions an XU Community that is dynamic, responsive, and committed to work with the people for sustainable development not only in the city but also in Mindanao and the country. The partnership with the City Information Office is an opportunity for advancing the university’s agenda on food, health, governance, environment and peace, and the city government’s 8-point agenda. It is also an excellent avenue for active participation and engagement of the youth, as the future of good governance rests on their shoulders.

The challenge for the youth is to step up and seize these opportunities to engage. The leaders of today should create an enabling environment for positive youth engagement and empowerment to help shape the leaders of tomorrow.

 

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