KABATAAN - ERIN'S ADVOCACY MAGAZINE

COMMITTING

ne who can alleviate one ’ s suffering, even in the slightest way possible Hence, when I knew that our NSTP would focus on CWTS, I was delighted as I knew that my volunteer self would enjoy my college journey as I could do what I love. More so, our Midterms Output allows us to establish our advocacy, advancing the volunteer self within each of us. In addition, I am thrilled as I know that this will be either a starting point for some new to Volunteerism, a way back to volunteering for those who stopped, or a way to continue what they have for those who already have been advocating and volunteering before. Thus earning more volunteers as time passes, and the more we have helping, the heavier we can downweigh the issues that cause a ruckus in other people’s lives. We can’t waste more time; that is something I highly adhere to as someone who directly sees and experience these issues; hence, I value the crucial aspect of having more volunteers than fewer volunteers as time goes by. One volunteer can be a help, but a volunteer more than one can create an impact and forward the change we want

I am writing this note before we dive deeper into my journey in establishing my advocacy as I want to remind each and every one of us that we should not stop after this output or do this for the sake of grades as these issues that pushes us to advance our advocacy do exist and are continuously developing as time passes by These problems that direct us to the advocacy we wish to forward ourselves to are real and are making others, or as unfortunate as it may sound, the majority of our population, suffer. May this be a reminder that volunteering is not a requirement, but it is indeed a way for us a

to be a help; thus, we should encourage one another to be one We should be forwarding to a society where volunteering is desired by many A better society where people don't see volunteering and advocating as a burden that would just tire them out without something in return. Instead, society is admired by many, and advocating is pushed by all, as seeing people have their lives better is already more than enough reason for us to volunteer. Cheers to more established advocacies, especially about those that are not being lighted and to more volunteers! dfdsddgsgd

The Spirit of Volunteerism and being an advocate, has been ingrained in my soul since the beginning, as I always found myself happier when I can reach out my hand to those who need help

IN TODAY'S TIMES,

that I see and experience one way or another is more than what my fingers can count. As I wake up every media, watch the news, or many problems are added unfortunate that as time p problems to arise than so pover

the number of problems in our society poverty increase to the educational crisis to blatant corruption and unjustified inflation, and there’s no turning back anymore. What’s more terrifying is that the future we all hoped for may already be gone in a blink of an eye, that the next time we wake up, it does not exist anymore. Therefore, I molded myself to be a person that will be part of the solution and not of the problem anymore by pushing my limitations and advocating for social issues that highly affect our fellow Filipinos in my own ways. In any decision I make then, I ensure that these decisions, whether big or small, are made not only by thinking of myself but also by how they will affect others. I also started getting involved even in small conversations, as I adhere that these can also create or forward something toward the change we are all aiming for.

However, just like what they say, any path we take is never easy as when I was taking my way towards volunteerism and advocating, I experienced the worst reality of our generation today that continuously weighed down my actions. To be honest, at first, I always wondered why the Youth didn’t do anything or weren’t as loud as they should be But, after experiencing this myself, I was enlightened with the reasons why Youth voices are not weak; instead, they are actually louder than we think There are actually many Youth volunteers and advocates that endlessly fight for the oppressed and other social issues However, the deafening discrimination and undermining by different generations continue to silence them, revoking the rights to be involved and to speak up. For others, we don’t know anything while they know more; hence, we Youth can’t really do that much from their perspective. What’s more saddening is that this became a normal occurrence for us Youth, especially this last May 2022 Election where despite being the majority percentage of the total voters

normal occurrence for us Youth, especially this last May 2022 Election where despite being the majority percentage of the total voters in our country, we are still seen under the light as being “useless” and “nothing” unless our stance is one with them. These times were the darkest times for the Youth as we constantly experienced being thrown discriminatory and hate speech just because we wanted to fight for what is right, even reaching the point of being red tagged and having our lives threatened. Every day, as you read every news article or any post online, the comments section will be filled with nothing but hatred towards the Youth. It is actually quite ironic that Dr. Jose Rizal referred to us as the future of our nation, but in the eyes of the rest of the generation,

of the generation we can't do anything as we are "young people" who ne day to my relative's was still "young" and I

w anything I was saying, being h derogatory names and even rist" even if I am just fighting s right not only for myself but ur fellow Filipinos. They even not to use my surname if I continue what I was doing, ught me to tears. For years, been threatening me to stop doing or else they will not see amily. Imagine, I am not the e who experience this e, which is not even the worst have experienced more than uch words. Others have their

safety directly threatened and be really disowned by their family If this continues, I am afraid of what our future will uphold, more so, the future of the Youth in the hands of these kinds of people just because we chose to fulfill our responsibility as the future of our nation. Age does and should not define our capabilities and is not a limiting factor towards what we can do, especially for our nation. These things should stop as if we really want the “change” we are aiming for; we shouldn't “stop” the people that continuously fight for these without asking anything in return, and that is the “YOUTH.” Therefore, I eagerly want to become part of the solution that will uplift the Youth in forwarding their desire to help our nation be better. I want a positive change within our society; thus, my advocacy is Youth Empowerment as the Future of our Nation does not need anything that will downweigh them, and instead, they need, we need that empowerment to continue this fight.

ADVOCACYIS

However, establishing this advocacy of mine is something I recognized as not easy as I don’t want to be like those who only post on social media and then call it a day as advocating is more than that I don’t wish my advocacy to only be good for a short period of time as I want this to last long as the issues it responds to are also not going away in a blink of an eye. Therefore, I genuinely took my time to analyze and reflect on various information that I know will aid me in making my actions sustainable, concrete, and effective.

FIRST,

First, I took my time to analyze the situations of Youth today by seeing them from different perspectives, viewing various problems they face to test the extremities of the discrimination we encounter. In this way, I was enlightened about the needs and wants of the Youth when it comes to Youth Empowerment, what are the things that usually hinder them, and what are the things they see as necessary to be empowered. I understood that every Youth’s situation today differs from one another, having the extremities of our situation be varied. Hence, the solution will not be a one size fits all as I need to appeal to each differently as some need more attention, such as those directly suffering from the repercussion of this issue, while some just need platforms to uplift their actions. If I skipped this part and directly decided on the action I would take for my advocacy; then nothing would make sense as I am not responding to what the Youth need directly. Thus, it is safe to conclude that this step allowed me to ensure that the action I will take will indeed make an impact and is for the Youth.

SECOND,

I then dived deeper into the ways of establishing advocacies themselves as I took my time researching various established advocacies. Through rresearching esearching them, I gathered enough systematic information on what I should and shouldn't do when establishing advocacy so that I'll be able to employ the demanded actions to my chosen action successfully as I compared the advocacies from one another. I also integrated my past experiences with "impulsive advocacies," where we don't consider other relative factors in doing some actions, such as funding, capability to continue, growth of the issue, and the unforeseen hurdles along the way. From there, I realized various factual information that served as a deciding factor and sd uch as funding, capability to continue, growth of the issue, and the unforeseen hurdles along the way. From there, I realized various factual information that served as a deciding factor and foundation for the actions that I will commit myself to do so, such as the significance of knowing that I can’t do much with my advocacy alone without much power. In addition, I found out that commonly with advocacies nowadays are relevant; however, given that it does not reach the audience it is supposed to and does not have sufficient means to boost their projects, it remains as is without much progress. Thus, it is highly significant to have a stable platform that will give the leverage to earn that power. I need an outlet that will allow me to “sustainably” layout the projects that connotate to my advocacy and has a stable target audience so that I can reach more Youth. With that, the actions I committed myself to the issues I have identified, forwarding my advocacy are joining a national and an international Youth NGO or non governmental organizations as through them, I’ll be empowered to empower the Youth. I’ll have access to resources to start any project, target audiences, and other opportunities, which I can forward to the Youth depending on their needs, that I analyzed as weak points in an advocacy. As of today, I committed myself into two organizations, the Millenials PH Cavite Chapter and the ASEAN Youth Advocates Network.

IN MILLENIALS

PHILIPPINES

I am working under the Cavite Chapter as the Internals Head, who is in charge of directly working with the volunteers and ambassadors. I am playing a role in keeping the volunteers and ambassadors of our chapter informed and involved in every volunteer work and advocacy initiative we do. Recently, I hosted an event for our organization where we welcomed new members of the Mindanao Chapter. To be honest, working in such an organization is both an honor and a pressure. I am honored to be part of such an organization that is an awardee of TAYO or the Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations Organizations in the year 2020 and has been recognized nationally. However, it is also pressuring as we get bigger, and the responsibilities I need to fulfill are also increasing. As of today, the whole Millenials PH has already mobilized 50,000 volunteers in 145 areas in the Philippines, having different chapters in different regions. I am more than honored to be one of an organization that fights to pursue the ideals and aspirations of the young people in a progressive and democratic Philippines, fighting for the rights of the Filipinos. I am more than satisfied to be one with an organization that advances my advocacy of empowering the Youth, reiterating the recent occurrences I have shared with the situation of the Youth today. Through various events, publication materials, and other engaging activities, we are able to mobilize the Youth to be more engaged and involved in good governance and progressive solutions to prove the other generations wrong.

On the Other hand, I am am the Director for Communications (External Affairs) of the ASEAN Youth Advocates Network or AYAN, an international youth led, non profit, socio civic, and non governmental organization established to pave the way for the ASENA

ASEAN Youth to experience involvement in their localities through a series of advocacy based initiatives Here, we aim to lead and guide the Youth who want to instill volunteerism, advocate solutions, and boost the community building

ess toward ASEAN Countries. If I am g to be honest, at first, I was whelmed with how this organization tions, given that it is an international There have been days that I cried elf to sleep because of the stress and sure, and there are also days that I t sleep as I need to finish my workload here on top of my academics and extracurricular activities. It even came to a point where I was so stressed with my packed schedules and workload that I did not function for a whole day anymore. However, despite the process I had to undergo, I did not stop nor hesitate to continue as I knew everything would be worth it for what I was fighting and advocating for I always think that if I quit, it’s like I am also giving up on my advocacy to uplift the Youth just because of the hardship that I went through

Today, I am proud to be involved in many projects that pursue my advocacy of Youth Empowerment under AYAN, such as our previously concluded ASEAN Youth Week 2022, where we did a week long event for the Youth. This project has been in preparation for months, thus one of the reasons why I am always awake 24/7 during the last months of our Senior High School We have constantly been working with the whole ASEAN Youth for months, crafting a week long event with various activities from democratic engagement to workshops, panel discussions, and even a human library, all that we can provide to empower the Youth in today’s society. We even held our first face to face event after two years of the pandemic at the Liwasang Diokno near U.P Diliman, where I traveled alone. Despite the hassle of commuting from Cavite to Quezon City, it was worth it to witness yffffffffffff , around a hundred or so, are actively cate for what they want to attain in our hear how much they enjoyed the events ak through in today's society.

And currently, we are doing our External Recruitment to further increase the number of ASEAN Youth involved in such actions of advocating our Sustainable Development Goals or the SDGs. We are doing every way possible to encourage the Youth to take the risk and be empowered to extend their horizons as they deserve to be heard and to have access to endless resources our organization can provide as we believe that the Youth have endless ideas and solutions in mind, they just need that push that can give them the leverage to do so Just last Sunday, October 21, our team went to a Youth Event conducted by I am M.AD, or I am Making a Difference, where we held our first face to face recruitment booth at Makati City, and again, yes, I commuted from Cavite to Makati by myself. There, besides attending the event and listening to various speakers, we sat down, listened to the ysothey should join an organization like AYAN. We imparted how AYAN empowered us to grow, being a live embodiment of the wonders that AYAN can do to an aspiring Youth Advocate, especially in today’s times where we are continuously being shut down.

And to mention, I am handling a huge project in collaboration with ASEAN IPR from Indonesia and the rest of the ASEAN Countries called ASEAN Youth Peace Figures Here, we future deserving Youth around the ASEAN Countries who embody the representation of a peace advocate. In this way, we are giving the spotlight to the Youth, showcasing to the whole world how much a Youth can do, and we are also boosting the morale of those who doubt themselves as Youth as these Peace Figures shares their journey as an advocate.

This journey of mine might already be so far with my advocacy, but this is not yet the end, as this is only the start. I may have come so far, but I haven’t come so far yet for my advocacy as I still have a long way to go. I am more than willing to spend more time doing everything I can to provide the Youth the opportunities they deserve, have their voices amplified, and have their spotlight centered. Currently, I am working on other projects with my organizations that I can’t wait to share with everyone else.

YOUARE NOT JUST

As you are a youth.