Students hone leadership skills to serve their communities

MANILA, Philippines - Close to a hundred student leaders came together all bound by a common goal: to hone their leadership and serve their communities.

The Leadership Communities (LeadCom) Baguio-Benguet program staged a three-day leadership camp for 97 student leaders from five partner schools from across the province. The camp, presented by Globe Telecom and held from May 21 to 23, was held at the Benguet State University, La Trinidad, Benguet. Entitled “Cordilleran Advocates for Responsible Leadership,” the leadership camp is designed to inspire and empower young student leaders of Baguio and Benguet to be young changemakers in their province.

The LeadCom Baguio-Benguet program is a one-year engagement with five partner schools in Baguio and Benguet and is run in partnership with Globe Bridging Communities, the corporate social responsibility arm of Globe Telecom and Ayala Foundation. The LeadCom program trains student leaders by working alongside partner colleges and universities in various cities and provinces in the country. LeadCom Baguio-Benguet partner schools include Benguet State University, Cordillera Career Development College, University of Baguio, University of the Cordilleras, and Saint Louis University.

Drawing inspiration from the Ayala Young Leaders Congress (AYLC), the LeadCom Baguio-Benguet program brought together a community of leaders and believers who were taught the value of collaboration, trust, a greater sense of self-awareness and leadership. Says college sophomore Marissa Basiwal from Besao, Mt. Province who is studying Development Communications, she hopes to be armed with “new skills and strategies on human relations because a good understanding of other people brings unity and cooperation.” 

Globe Bridging Communities provided P1 million for the LeadCom Baguio-Benguet program and the support will extend to the development of the LeadCom website. According to Rob Nazal, head of Globe Corporate Social Responsibility, “We are proud to be part of a congress which makes youth development accessible to students nationwide. Globe also advocates active citizenship under our i-Lead pillar programs and we believe that good governance does not solely rely on elected officials nor duty-bearers but also involves participation from citizens.”

Through the i-Lead program, Globe also promotes accountability and increased participation in governance via Project Citizen, which develops active citizenship among the youth and enhances their democratic skills and attitudes.

 LeadCom participants of the recently concluded camp are also encouraged to translate their leadership learnings into project proposals, which will benefit their chosen community or school through the Servant Leadership in Practice (SLIP). Small grants will be given to leadership teams to help them mobilize, plan and implement their projects.