schoolscolleges2020 hed news

By Ernesto Neri (XU Ateneo Law School President and Oro Youth Development Council Chairperson)

More than 300 youth leaders from different sectors of Cagayan de Oro City drew together for the second installment of Oro Youth Leaders Convergence (OYLC) on May 2 at the Xavier University Covered Courts.

Mandated under Executive Order 72-2014 constituting the Oro Youth Development Council (OYDC), this year’s gathering centered on the “The Role of the Youth in Ensuring Inclusive Growth in an Emerging CDO.”

The resource speakers of the event were National Youth Commissioner (NYC) Earl Saavedra, Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio J Ledesma SJ DD and CDO Mayor Oscar Moreno.

Archbishop Ledesma emphasized the spiritual dimension of social development and its foundation: the recognition and respect of human dignity.

Commissioner Saadvera shared about the macro-level roles of the youth in the political narrative of the nation as well as the advances in reforms in the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK).

On the other hand, Mayor Moreno condensed all the streams into pictures of our neighborhood—emphasizing the role of the youth as “the gravity” of the region and its symbiosis with the other regions.

As a public and private initiative, the youth summit was held in collaboration with the XU Kristohanong Katilingban Pagpakabana - Social Involvement Office (KKP-SIO) and the OYDC with the City Social Welfare Office (SCWO) as the secretariat.

This year’s youth convergence featured breakout sessions on specific topics which provided an opportunity for the youth to question and interact with local officials.

The seven critical areas articulated in the Oro Youth Development Agenda were explored: education, health, environment, illegal drugs, disaster preparedness, urban development, and social protection.

Guide questions were also given to the participants to draw out their insights on the issues and solicit their recommendations which will become the basis for this year’s policy engagements.

After the breakout sessions, the organizational leaders then chose among themselves youth representatives who will sit as youth councilors for 2015 which will comprise the leadership structure in sustaining the efforts of the OYDC in the community and in the City Hall.

Youth councilors will also sit and represent the youth sector in different special bodies of the city government.

Initially, the OYDC is looking into 3 major legislative advocacies namely the Magna Carta of Students Rights and Welfare Ordinance, the Anti-discrimination Ordinance and in the national level, the SK Reform Bill.

The XU Research and Social Outreach’s thematic area on governance has widened to embrace youth engagements as well. The KKP-SIO has been constantly engaging the formation of future public leaders and promoting engaged citizenry among its programs.

The need to form competent, committed and conscientious public servants has never been more pronounced as the nation uncovers complex networks of corruption thriving in weak public institutions.

The OYDC, in partnership with KKP-SIO and other academic institutions, serves as a local platform and a social innovation where young community leaders get to enhance their skills in public leadership and deepen their orientation in participatory democracy and good governance.

In the long term, this partnership seeks to develop an organized and politically mature constituency that can effectively influence decision-making in our public institutions and development process.