On July 1, 2024, 19 youth and student leaders participated in a two-day workshop titled "A Breath of Fresh Air: Colors, Perspectives, Actions." The event provided a platform for exchanging understanding, methods, and experiences in organizing and leadership among the younger generation. The participants also established action points to implement their learning in their respective contexts.


The session began with an introduction to the historical and meaningful contributions of the youth in global, Philippine, and Mindanao struggles for independence, right to self-determination, and collective assertions for social, climate, and gender justice, human rights, and peace. The youth participants revisited significant events where young people played important roles. Each significant event or era was analyzed and contextualized during the discussion.


A workshop followed where youth leaders discussed and presented issues and concerns directly and indirectly impacting them. These ranged from Ancestral Domain and environmental concerns to access to social services, human rights, social inequalities, disinformation, and development aggression.


Subsequently, there was a discussion on the basic concepts and principles of human rights, including the current human rights situation. Invited community organizers and leaders presented basic concepts on youth and community organizing and leadership. These various concepts and universal orientations were debated and understood in light of current realities. It was agreed that while there may be complexities and new platforms for organizing and leading, grassroots and rooted organizing and leadership remain essential.


Concrete plans for fieldwork were laid out by the attendees, which will be assessed in a few months. Follow-up sessions were discussed and will be coordinated by the installed mechanism.


The workshop was a collaborative effort of the Alliance of TriPeople for the Advancement of Human Rights (ALTAHR), Mindanao Tri-People Women Resource Center (MTWRC), Ancestral Land/Domain Watch (AMKP), KAAGAPAY, and Tri-Peoples' Organization against Disasters (TRIPOD) Foundation, as recommended in previous discussions.