2 Pinoys win world TOYP award

Two Filipinos were among 10 outstanding young people honored at the ongoing JCI World Congress in Seoul, South Korea.

Illac Angelo Diaz and Juan Sajid Imao were awarded as The Outstanding Young Persons of the World (TOYP) at a gala reception on Monday.

Diaz, chosen by a distinguished jury in the category "Business, economic and/or entrepreneurial accomplishment," is a social entrepreneur who has established several companies that provide sustainable solutions to societal problems.

Among these is PierOne Seafarer’s Dormitory, which provides safe and affordable temporary housing for the thousands of Filipino seamen who are in Manila looking for jobs. He also established the MyShelter Foundation, which builds clinics and classrooms and creates sustainable housing solutions in rural areas.

Combining social relevance with business savvy, Diaz had earlier won business ideas competitions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston for a coral regeneration project using a turbine powered by sea currents; a low-cost, easily replicable cement peanut sheller; and an "earth classroom" that uses locally available materials like soil to build low-cost classrooms in rural areas.

Diaz is currently developing micro-financing linkages for a food-based livelihood project to benefit poor agricultural communities. He has successfully combined business acumen and a strong sense of social responsibility in projects that meet the needs of marginalized groups in society and are at the same time economically viable and self-sustaining.

Diaz has a master’s degree in Entrepreneurship from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from the Asian Institute of Management. Next year, he will enter the Mason Fellow Program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Last year, he became the first TOYM awardee for social entrepreneurship.

Imao, recognized in the "Personal improvement and/or accomplishment" category, is an award-winning sculptor whose forte is cast bronze and brass using the age-old "lost wax" method.

Gradually losing his vision because of retinitis pigmentosa, a rare degenerative disease, he has created exceptional public art pieces including a brass sundial monument entitled "History at Every Hour," larger than life size statues of Juan Luna, Lapu-Lapu and other historic Filipino figures, as well as the Marikorea monument, the first monument honoring the 7,000 Filipino soldiers who fought to defend South Korea during the Korean War in the 1950s.

Imao has also shown exceptional achievement in classical portraiture despite his disability, because of which he now has no peripheral vision and only a very small window of sight. By his achievements, Imao demonstrates that it is possible to overcome physical disability and continue to pursue lofty goals.

Sajid Imao is the son of National Artist for Sculpture Abdulmari Imao.

Other TOYP awardees are Fatimah Binte Abdul Lateef of Singapore, Maria Kidney of Ireland and Jyki Pekka Emil Linnankivi of Finland for Humanitarian and/or voluntary leadership; Hayley Dee Westenra of New Zealand for Cultural achievement; Akseli Eetu Hemminki of Finland and Jayanto Kumar Tapadar of India for Medical innovation; Rene Nielsen of Denmark for Personal improvement and/or achievement; and Chung C. To of Hong Kong for Contribution to children, world peace and/or human rights.

By recognizing these young people, JCI seeks to encourage young people all over the world to continue seeking excellence and serving others.