12th National Ayala Young Leaders Congress opens Feb 10

MANILA, Philippines - Eighty-one college students from all over the Philippines will gather in Alfonso, Cavite, from Feb. 9 to 12, to take part in the 12th National Ayala Young Leaders Congress (AYLC). The annual summit engages young leaders in three days of dialogues, teambuilding, and vision-setting in the spirit of servant leadership.

With the theme, “Ako: Pagbabago!” this year’s AYLC will formally open on Feb. 10 with a keynote address by CNN Hero of the Year and founder of Dynamic Teen Co., Efren Peñaflorida.

Over the course of AYLC, participants will interact with leaders from the business, government, and socio-civic sectors as well as from the field of the arts and media. Speakers include South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Avance-Fuentes, Manila Water Co. president Rene Almendras, YouthVotePhilippines convenor Jaime Garchitorena, Probe Productions president Che-Che Lazaro, RockEd Philippines founder Gang Badoy, and AYLC alumni Edward Nino Puyod of Philippine Greenfarm Development Corp., Coun. Concon Hernandez of Lipa City, and Lesley Cordero of the USAID Energy and Clean Air Project. Facilitators include McCann Erickson Philippines chairman emeritus Emily Abrera, Prof. Solita Monsod, and ABS-CBN host Pia Hontiveros-Pagkalinawan.

Congress participants were chosen for their strong track record of service to their school or community and for demonstrating leadership qualities. Key officers in the Ayala Group of Companies led by Ayala Corp. chairman emeritus Jaime Zobel de Ayala, chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, and president and COO Fernando Zobel de Ayala, helped select the young leaders by way of panel interviews.

Of the 81 participants, 44 percent are from Luzon, 26 percent from the Visayas, 11 percent from Mindanao, and 19 percent from the National Capital Region. This year’s summit is the first time that a seminary and the Philippine National Police Academy are sending delegates.

“We in the Ayala Group of Companies believe that leadership-one that is founded on integrity and service-leads to positive change for those whom leaders serve and for society at large. The Ayala Young Leaders Congress aims to highlight the tremendous impact that each of these young Filipinos can make, and more importantly, the change we can all make by working together,” says John Philip Orbeta, Ayala managing director for corporate resources and AYLC program director.