DAVAO ORIENTAL – The Provincial Government is filled with pride as two of its youth leaders were among the selected delegates to represent the Philippines in the Philippine Youth Leadership Program (PYLP) held in the United States of America.

Rod John D. Pandili, a provincial government employee, Founder and President of the Lumon Community, and President of Junior Chamber International Mati and Board of Trustee of Youth for Peace Movement Davao Oriental, and Jodenn Mark Algallar, a Grade 12 Student at the Davao Oriental Regional Science High School joined the 24-member student and youth delegation from Mindanao, Philippines in a one-month leadership training and team-building experience in the USA.

Sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the U.S. Department of State Youth Exchange programs, in partnership with Northern Illinois University in the USA and the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines, the program aims to empower young people and establish long-lasting ties between the United States and the Philippines.

The Philippine Youth Leadership Program (PYLP), which is centered at the Northern Illinois University (NIU) in DeKalb, Illinois, gives student leaders from diverse communities around the island of Mindanao, especially from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), the opportunity to learn and share the best practices of their programs centered on youth development.

Mr. Pandili relayed, “The overarching vision of the PYLP program is to enhance participants’ knowledge, skills, leadership abilities, and confidence so that they can engage the world around them more deeply and have an impact that reverberates far beyond the four weeks in the U.S. More specifically, the program goals are to: 

1. Prepare youth leaders to become responsible citizens and contributing members of their communities;

2. Empower participants to be actively engaged in addressing issues of concern in their schools and communities upon their return home;

3. Build mutual understanding, tolerance, and respect through shared culture and values; and

4. Foster relationships among youth from different ethnic, racial, religious, and national groups. ”  

In the next three years, the updated program will focus on these primary themes:

• Civic Education (citizen participation, grassroots democracy , and other mission priorities)
• Youth Leadership Development (such as team building, public speaking, negotiation, goal setting, and project planning)
• Respect for Diversity (including ethnicity, race, gender, religion, geographic location, socio-economic status, and disabilities);
• Community Engagement (sustainable communities, environmental preservation, peace and mediation, disaster preparedness and management, asset-based community development, volunteerism, and philanthropy); and
• Environmental Education (biodiversity, ecosystems, environmental preservation, and sustainability)

The one-month activity also included a trip to the State of Chicago ad concluded with a brief educational visit to Washington, DC. They then gather as a group a final time to share best practices and evaluate their activities.  

“This could be the proudest moment of my American Dream journey showcasing the best of Mandaya Tribe while presenting my aspirations for my community in the Province of Davao Oriental to the United States Department of State alongside with the promising youth leaders of Mindanao,” said RJ Pandili, one of the Davao Oriental representatives.

Davao Oriental Governor Nelson Dayanghirang said he is proud of the two Davao Oriental delegates who represented the country at an international level. Believing in the youth’s capacity to make changes and impact their communities, he expressed his hopes that more youth will follow their lead to help the province and the country become a better place to live in.

After returning to the Philippines, the delegates will continue implementing self-led projects that promote community development in their respective region.