COVID-19 RESPONSE
PARTNERSHIP AMIDST PANDEMIC: LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND By: Maria Sofia del Fonso National Secretariat - OSYAF and Marianne Sigue 2020 National Chairman for UN Sustainable Development Goals
Since the beginning of the quaran-
tine in March, young Filipino leaders from various youth sectors have begun to step up to work towards a more unified society that can work together to bring about change amidst this crisis. Although projects like non-government organizations, webinars, and outreaches have been quite evident prior to the pandemic, these past five months have really seen some of the biggest and most impactful youth-led initiatives. The Online SDG Youth Action Forum (OSYAF) was born and founded by young individuals namely; Mark Jacinto, Mirus Ponon, Reynard Francisco including our 2020 National Director for UNSDG, Marianne Sigue. It became a platform to solidify the youth’s engagement to work for the attainment of the United Nations’ SDGs and their 2030 Agenda.
Shortly after several runs of OSYAF, they decided to create the Online Filipino Youth Action Summit (OFYAS) which was held last May 8-10. This was created through the partnership of Youth Advocates for the Philippines, P4SSitON and RLAF Training Group, together with JCI Philippines. The event gained over 4000 registrants and welcomed over 1000 viewers through Zoom and Facebook Live in every session. The summit’s theme focused on “Filipino Youth Action in COVID-19”, and amplified the importance of involving the youth in contributing to the COVID-19 response. The participants learned and heard from speakers in the environment sectors, business sectors, and even those working in youth organizations. These speakers did not only emphasize taking action in the present pandemic, but also encouraged sustaining and further elevating youth action coming into the “new normal”.
more inclusive, fair and sustainable communities through skills development, capacity building, mentoring and grants. The GCM Team taps the OSYAF Team and conducted Online GCMx Philippines (or GCMx OFYAS) last May 29-30. The 2-day FREE online event targeted 30 selected Filipino youths aged 15-30 and aimed to introduce the SDGs, Global Changemakers, design thinking, and develop innovative solutions and ideas for their respective target communities.
So what’s next after the Summit? The organizing team decided to attend the Virtual Summit 2020 organized by The Global Changemakers, an international youth organization that supports youth in creating positive change towards
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JCI PHILIPPINES
The Team then again decided to make another initiative, the Online Filipino Youth Action Conference that was held last June 12-14. Out of 1000+ registrants from all over the Philippines, only 100 delegates were accepted. 20 young leaders
