Shaping Tomorrow’s Leaders: Why Ayala Is Inv

Youth power is the buzzword at Ayala Corp. these days. Over the past years, officers at the 167-year old bricks and mortar business house have been investing in young Filipinos, driven by the belief that it is now in the hands of those below 40 to lead the country forward. This confidence in the next generation finds expression in a range of programs targeted at the youth but, most especially, in two major undertakings that have become integral to the Ayala landscape: the Ayala Young Leaders Congress, a yearly convention of top students, and the Center of Excellence in Public Elementary Education (Centex), an experimental school for gifted but underprivileged students.

"If we are going to truly develop our country and make it a better place to live in, we have to nurture leadership that is effective and forward-looking," explained Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala II, president and chief executive officer of Ayala Corp. "Our collective future can be safeguarded if we work now to develop principled, ethical, value-based leaders for the next generation."

Flagship

The company is putting its money where its mouth is in the Ayala Young Leaders Congress (AYLC), its flagship program for youth development. Every year, the conference gathers 70 of the country’s most outstanding student leaders for three days of workshops, discussions with experts in various fields, and outdoor activities designed to hone their leadership skills and potential.

According to Zobel, AYLC hopes to assist these leaders in formulating a vision of society and then help them form bonds with one another. This is so that when they eventually take positions of leadership – and they are bound to do so, point out many studies – they can help each other remain faithful to that vision. Call it an innovative anti-graft measure.

Some claim that the conference – particularly the youthful exuberance and idealism of the 17-and 18-year-old participants – has given the conglomerate a welcome shot in the arm. In October for some three years now, work at the Ayala Corp.’s corporate headquarters in Makati, Tower One, all but stops as 150 pre-screened students from all universities and major colleges in the Philippines arrive for AYLC’s selection process. They are flown in from all over the country – all expenses paid – to be interviewed by no less than the likes of Jaime Augusto and Fernando Zobel de Ayala, iAyala’s Delfin Lazaro, Bank of the Philippine Island’s Bancassurance Group chief operating officer Emmanuel Herbosa, Globe Telecom’s Gerardo Ablaza, Jr., Integrated Microelectronics Inc.’s Filemon Berba, Manila Water Co.’s Antonino Aquino, and Ayala Foundation executive director Aurora Tolentino. These senior managers join interview panels together with other executives in the Ayala Group to assess the candidates’ social commitment and leadership potential.

Seventy students are eventually selected to participate in the conference. But for the executives, the process of selection is just as important as achieving the goal of coming up with the 70. This is because the mere act of sitting down and listening to students articulate their dreams and vision is an enriching experience in itself.

"We relive our youth and ideals and regenerate our hopes in these interactions with young people. You can’t help but catch it from these kids," said Danilo Gozo, Ayala Corp. associate director for corporate affairs.

Preparations are already underway for next year’s AYLC, which will explore "Citizen Leadership" in order to identify and find solutions to issues and challenges affecting the youth. More than 200 students have taken part in AYLC since 1999, some of them eventually reaping awards such as inclusion in the Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines (TOSP). Zobel explained: "We train and mold the youth because they will not only be the inheritors of our future, but will also be shapers of the succeeding generation’s future."

Scholarships

And while there is no lack of scholarships and support available to deserving students, the Ayala Group saw a greater need to be involved where it all begins, in the first crucial years of schooling. Development experts in the group note that it is not always easy to find students deserving of the scholarships usually available in the high school and college levels, especially among the needy. Often, gifted public school student don’t make it to the high levels because of poverty. Thus, Ayala Foundation, spearheaded by Ayala Land, Inc., decided to provide early intervention through the Center of Excellence in Public Elementary Education (Centex). This institution for the less privileged but exceptionally bright children hopes to be a feeder school to the likes of the Philippine Science High School, the Philippine High School for the Arts and other such institutions. Centex is a partnership with the Department of Education, Culture and Sports, local government units, and corporate funders such as ALI and, more recently, Globe Telecom.

With such support, it’s not hard to see how Centex can provide quality education at par with the country’s best private schools. There is no lack of classrooms and teachers. Students use the latest learning modules and tools. Interactive computer classes are offered. Parents are even given livelihood training and counseling.

"This will give kids from poor families equal footing when competing for scholarships in high school and later on in life," said Zobel. Despite not having any previous formal education, Centex children quickly catch up with peers who have the benefit of pre-schooling.

The program has so touched the Ayala Group that employees of some companies such as ALI regularly volunteer to help out in the schools and give donations. They keep track of developments in Centex through internal publications and e-mails. When Ayala Foundation and Globe sponsored a concert, "The Music of Dreams," for the benefit of Centex earlier this year, employees readily bought tickets for the event. Recently, Ayala Corp. produced art plates and other gift items featuring a work created by BenCab as his personal contribution to Centex.

"Filipinos have always given special importance to education as a proactive way of changing lives. This is why Centex is close to our hearts," Gozo said.

By creating opportunities and nurturing a vision of a better society through programs such as AYLC and Centex, Ayala Corp. hopes to do its part in social development. And while the fruits of its labors will only be felt in the far future, it is a mission that Zobel believed is well worth taking.

"These are not works of benign philantrophy," said Zobel. "They are a strategic investment in the future of our society."