DAVAO CITY, February 22, 2023—More than 200 local leaders and youth champions from 15 cities in the Philippines participated in the first-ever National Youth Development Alliance Summit in Davao City on February 22-23, 2023. Organized by USAID, the summit provided a platform to share knowledge, good practices, and innovations to support out-of-school youth, including programs such as the Alternative Learning System of the Department of Education (DepEd Philippines), technical-vocational training from the Technical Education And Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and the Youth Entrepreneurship Program of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI Philippines).
“To make growth truly inclusive, make our work more sustainable, and to have a greater impact, we need to work more closely with all of you to provide each youth the opportunity for a better tomorrow,” said USAID Mission Director Ryan Washburn who opened the event.
View the opening ceremonies here: National YDA Summit 2023 Opening Program.
Davao City Mayor Baste Duterte welcomed participants as the host city through Vice Mayor Jay Melchor B. Quitain, Jr. Meanwhile, Tagbilaran City Mayor Jane Yap who started as a youth leader, served as the event’s keynote speaker, sharing the alliance’s impact in Tagbilaran City. It also featured local leaders from Angeles City, Pasig City, Valenzuela City, Quezon City, Legazpi City, Davao City, General Santos City, Cotabato City, Iligan City, and Cagayan de Oro City, Cebu City, Iloilo City, Tagbilaran City, Zamboanga City, and Isabela City.
USAID helped set up Youth Development Alliances in Philippine cities as a sustainable community-based mechanism to craft youth-friendly policies, harmonize youth programs, and ease resource-sharing. To date, since 2020, YDAs—with support from national partners and USAID—have been instrumental in reaching 30,000 OSYs towards better second-chance opportunities to jobs, businesses, and higher-level education.
Opportunities provided to OSY through YDAs included work and business readiness training, on-the-job training, youth leadership, and empowerment seminars, job readiness trainings, entrepreneurial support, volunteer activities, and more. YDAs are typically led by city governments with members from the private sector, academia, youth, and civil society. The YDA has been a proven sustainable model for boosting support for OSYs in USAID’s partner cities.
Vice President and concurrent Department of Education Secretary Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio also gave a message of support: “Opportunity 2.0 and the many other USAID programs in the Philippines have strengthened education and workforce development systems, reached more out-of-school youth, and helped us get them ready for the transition to further education and training, immediate employment, and long-term success.”
DepEd Assistant Secretary for ALS G.H. Ambat and TESDA Deputy Director General Rosanna Urdaneta likewise supported and congratulated YDAs through video messages at the event. View select summit photos here.
