QUEZON CITY, (PIA) – The National Youth Commission (NYC) enjoins all the Filipino youth organizations in the first-ever National Youth Organization Registration Program (YORP) Convention this August 12 to 13, 2023. 

The YORP Convention centers on empowering the youth sector in becoming active agents of social change by providing them a collaborative platform where they can self-organize to tackle the pressing issues involving their generation and be equipped with the necessary knowledge to develop advocacy plans in response to these challenges. 

“We believe in the importance of gathering youth leaders from all over the country to come together and share ideas and experiences on how they can be partners in nation-building. We are also proud to announce that we finally made the first-ever YORP convention possible,” said NYC Chairperson Ronald Cardema in a statement. 

YORP aims to register the existing youth-serving organizations in the country based on their respective advocacies towards ensuring the accessibility of programs and initiatives intended for the youth sector. At present, there are 4,438 YORP-registered youth organizations under the NYC. 

In a press conference held on Friday, August 11, Assistant Secretary Alexa Dayanghirang of the NYC Committee on Social Inclusion and Equality announced that the new Philippine Youth Development Plan (PYDP) for the year 2023 to 2028 will be presented among the 250 projected attendees of the YORP Convention. 

In line with this pursuit, the NYC aims to use the concrete output of the convention to align the advocacy plans of the existing youth organizations with the key priority areas of the PYDP to strengthen the localization of youth programs. 

In addition, the participants will be able to gain an insight into the Green Skills for Youth initiative which highlights the role of the sector in addressing the environmental crisis. The NYC recognized the importance of cultivating ecological responsibility by establishing the new Committee Center Participation in Agriculture. 

The said convention, entitled “Time to Shine: YORP as Vanguard for Change,” is co-presented by United Nations Philippines, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Philippines.

UN Philippines Resident Coordinator Gustavo Gonzales has reaffirmed the commitment of the international community in providing productive and enabling spaces for the young people towards including  their voice in decision-making processes. 

“The United Nations will always support and empower the youth in their efforts to secure our vision of a more peaceful, sustainable, inclusive, and just world. Initiatives such as the YORP Convention are powerful opportunities to recognize and fully embrace the contributions of the Filipino youth,” said Gonzales. 

“Our forthcoming opportunities and action, encompassed in the 2024-2028 UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework that we are about to agree on with the Philippine government, will put young people at the center of our action and engagement across all areas of our work in the country,” he added. 

The conduct of the YORP Convention is likewise in line with the observance of the International Youth Day, ASEAN Day, and Linggo ng Kabataan.

It will also serve as the inaugural celebration of the recently enacted "National Youth Day" by virtue of Republic Act No. 11913. (NYC/PIA-NCR)