On Aug. 7 and 8, youth groups and leaders from the Calabarzon region held a two-day Local Youth Assembly (LYA) titled “Kabataan Kabalikat ng Kinabukasan: Calabarzon Local Youth Assembly” to organize a collective action toward meaningful democratic governance participation.

Calabarzon LYA is an initiative of the Youth Leadership for Democracy project of The Asia Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development, presented by Active Vista Center.

The Calabarzon LYA opened with a keynote speech by Vice President Leni Robredo, followed by a reflection and grounding activity where the participants were asked what their unique power as a Filipino is.

Then, a talk-back session about building a better bayan in the “new normal” took place. Speakers were Danica Castillo of Plastic-Free Pilipinas Project, John Verlin Santos of Titik Poetry, Hannah Pauline Pabilonia of Tadhana Collective and Chesca Persia of Zero Hunger PH.

The second day was a presentation of each group’s local agenda to the plenary and a selection of the Top 5 agenda for the Calabarzon region.