A YOUTH forum, aimed to empower young professionals on heritage protection and conservation was recently held at the Philippine High School for the Arts, National Arts Center in Los Baños, Laguna.

Held last Nov. 11 to 14, the First National Youth Forum was conceptualized by Project Saysay with the Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines (TOSP) Foundation, TOSP Region 3 and with the assistance and support of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, National Museum, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Government Service Insurance System and the Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA).

Representing each regions of the country, 80 young professionals were chosen by the organizers as delegates as well as from fields ranging from the cultural and natural heritage to sports heritage, arts, multimedia, agriculture, tourism, sustainable development, industrial design, creative industry, art and paper conservation, environmental, journalism, religious and military sectors.

Topics discussed include integrative youth initiatives on heritage, heritage contexts, heritage and sustainable development, and research and documentation, among others.

“The main purpose of this is to have a platform for young heritage experts, advocates, scholars and experts to gather and discuss matters in their regions affecting heritage,” said Project Saysay founder and executive director Ian Christopher Alfonso who added that this is also a way to establish dialogue with the concerned agencies and private institutions.

Alfonso, a researcher at the NHCP, said it is the first time this kind of event is held in the Philippines, patterned after heritage youth forums in other countries.

According to him, another aim of the forum which promotes multiculturalism and biodiversity is for the youth to further champion the cause of heritage awareness and education. The prime goal, he said is “nation building.”

Project Saysay founder Ian Alfonso (left) with three of the delegates PHOTOS BY EDGAR ALLAN M. SEMBRANO

The delegates and partners of the workshop adopted the Makiling Agenda on Heritage Education and Youth Initiatives 2020 or the Makiling Agenda 2020 which will serve “as a platform and network that bring these initiatives into synergy.”

A tour of the Mabini Shrine in Tanauan, Batangas, National Museum complex in Manila, and photo opportunities at the photobombed Rizal Monument in Luneta closed the four-day event. The closing dinner was hosted by the National Museum.