By Hazel Ann Lenida | Youth Program Associate
On April 25-27, 2018, Cagayan de Oro City witnessed a first in the history of NATCCO Youth Congresses as a total of 130 delegates – the largest number of participants ever to have attended – opened this year’s gathering with a bang! Our youth leaders fully engaged in the three-day Congress activities held at the Pearlmont Hotel, Cagayan de Oro City.
“[The Youth] You are the sustainability of the whole movement. Without the young coming into the Coops, we will not be in the next generations.” said NATCCO Chief Executive Officer Ms. Sylvia Paraguya as she opened the event with her Welcome Remarks. NATCCO Education, Training, and Consultancy Group Head Ms. Daisybelle Cabal thanked everyone for reaching a hundred delegates as she recalled the success of past Congresses in Cebu, Vigan, and Bohol. This year’s learning sessions built on widening local and international perspectives with our notable speakers.
The first day of the Congress started off with a keynote presentation from United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Country Director, Mr. Titon Mitra. His refresher of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals showed how Cooperatives, most especially the youth, have one of the most favorable positions in achieving the global objectives. Japan Workers Cooperative Union (JWCU) Board Member, Mr. Osamu Nakano, then shared his experience on how Coops in Japan help students, volunteers, and young professionals start productive careers and programs in the Coop movement, hinting at how Coops in the Philippines should also invest on the capabilities and resourcefulness of their young members.
The afternoon sessions opened with a straightforward discussion of adolescence and mental health by Department of Health (DOH) Regional EPI Coordinator, Ms. Karen Yee, followed by an informative talk on subsistence farming and agri-preneurship delivered by Mr. Jose Ebron, Development Program Manager of Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFASRD); and ended with a fun presentation on youth governance and active participation by Oro Youth Development Council Co-Founder, Atty. Ernesto Neri.
Laboratory Cooperative Chairpersons and representatives from Sta. Cruz Savings & Development Coop, Lamac MPC, and Tagum Coop shared the stage to present their own experiences of youth engagement in the grassroots and answer questions on best practices and other technicalities. Fennel Philippines co-founder, Ms. Julienne Joven, and National Youth Commission Presidential Staff Officer, Ms. Evanesa Pasamba, covered the first half of Day 2 with guided workshops on branding and adaptive leadership focusing on the role of millennials as the digital leaders of the 21st century.
Delegates also voted for the new set of NATCCO Youth Committee representatives for 2018 to 2020. They will take over the duties of the outgoing committee and represent the youth network’s advocacies. Our newly elected committee members are: Luzon – Jeffrey Viernes (NSCC) and Wendy Lacasandile (SACDECO) Visayas – Kevin Paslon (Lamac MPC) and Ronah Marie Nillos (Youth Board, ICSPTEMPC) Mindanao – Kevin Babia (MCC) and Aljun Aniban (SAMULCO).
The Congress closed with a fun fieldtrip at one of Bukidnon’s top tourist destinations: Dahilayan Adventure Park! Everyone enjoyed a day of teambuilding and exploration with their new-found friends before going back to the hotel and parting ways. Three days full of inspiring stories, positive energy, learning, and lasting friendships. We hope everyone keeps in touch as we all work towards the network’s goals. Thank you, delegates, mentors, and advocates for actively participating in the NATCCO Youth Congress 2018 — Youth: The Face and Brand of the Co-ops’ Future!
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
