LC Collaborates UIC for EYAF SUMMIT 2022

Dave Jonathan Puertollano

Lourdes College’s Teacher Education Program, Cagayan de Oro City, in collaboration

with the University of Immaculate Conception’s Global Leaders Club, Davao City,
made happen the “Empowering the Youth for a Better Future (EYAF) Summit 2022” a
youth empowering event that occurred last April 29 to May 1, 2022, via zoom virtual
conferencing with the theme “Amplifying 21st Century ASEAN Leadership through
Purposive Dialogue ''.

The 3-day event summit was collaborated by the two Ignacian schools and primarily
involved ten (10) participating countries of the ASEAN community, namely: Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and
Vietnam. Other countries such as Ecuador, Japan, Nigeria, Macau, & Netherlands were
also participants in this event. The summit was divided into three main events: Youth
Empowerment Symposium (YES); Skills Enhancement of Youth Leaders (SEYL)
Workshop; and, ASEAN Forum by which each event had its purposive intention.

The YES was a lecture segment aimed to give light on the mental stability and lifestyle
of the different student leaders from various colleges and universities across the
globe. It was graced with a renowned guest speaker from Universiti Teknologi MARA,
Malaysia, Dr. Khadijah Said Hashim. Dr. Khadijah’s lecture, “Embracing
Environmental Engagement: The Essence and Emphasis of Holistic Development and
Mental Health”, talks about the manifestation of a well-balanced individual-holistic
mindset that would be helpful to youth leaders. She discussed human growth, stating
that it consists of stages and phases, namely: Physical Development, Cognitive
Development, Social and Emotional Development, and Moral and Spiritual
Development. Along with her talk, Dr. Khadijah left some impactful quotes that are
heart striking, here are some of them: "Be what you want to be, and know how you
want to achieve it", "People always come into our lives with a reason", and
"Overthinking can jeopardize everything”. Surely, Dr. Khadijah’s talk has empowered
the young leaders that listened to her lecture.

Moreover, The SEYL Workshop was a skill development opportunity for the delegates
in which various student leaders from the host schools became speakers and delivered
informative and educational talks on various fields in event preparation. Eight (8)
speakers were tasked to share the four (4) areas of event preparation. Where, Mr.
Charles Andre Nieves from UIC and Ms. Lai Kie Mesqueriola from LC were assigned to
talk for Event Planning; Ms. Shanaia Twain Ng from UIC and Ms. Abygail Salcedo from
LC for Hosting or Emceeing; Ms. Christy Faurime Reyes from UIC and Mr. Kim
Tingabngab from LC for Event Facilitation; and Mr. Al Gabriel Orig from UIC and Ms.
Abegale Burnea from LC for Creative and Design. These student leaders shared their
experiences and testimonies on the struggles and enjoyment of event planning.
During the breakout sessions of the four areas, the speakers also engaged the
participants in a fun and exciting activities that tested their skills in the areas of event
planning.

Lastly, The ASEAN Forum is a cross-cultural sharing that aims to discuss various
social issues of the participating countries, allowing the delegates to research and
learn more about the contemporary issues in the fields of politics, economics, socio-
cultural, and environment. The forum allowed the delegates to act as country leaders
that would develop mitigations and resolutions that they ought would stabilize the
issue. It has two parts: the Plenary Session and the Seniors Official Meeting (SOM)
which opened an opportunity for the student leaders to share and discuss their
findings on the issues concerning the ASEAN countries. It provided constructive
feedback from renowned professionals & professors from the different The
participants from the different ASEAN countries collaborated to discuss various social
issues concerning their chosen ASEAN country, presenting them to the participants
and the panelist. Various problems and issues were viewed from various angles,
opening the minds of the participants, and allowing them to see the cons experienced
by other nations. The event was fruitful as many issues were uncovered and discussed,
but sadly the event was still lacking as the participants were eager for more
discussions and hungry for more meaningful sharing that led to holistic cultural
empathy. The event ended successfully after a day of the immersive global discussion.

The closing ceremony culminated in the youth summit where the delegates wore
traditional costumes of their home countries. Fun Games, dancing, and educated
sharing were delivered during the closing ceremony, and freebies were given to the
winners. The EYAF Summit 2022 ended successfully where each event was executed
excellently, participants made new friends and acquaintances and brought home
memorable learnings and freebies gained throughout the course of the Summit.