Empowering children and youth together in the Philippines

KIYO and Djapo will empower children and youth in the Philippines to become active global citizens and to provide them with the skills to build a future society embracing sustainability and human rights. Effective youth empowerment requires the shaping of gender-sensitive quality learning environments based on GCE/ESD principles and the children’s rights-based approach where all learners can participate, feel safe, become aware and develop skills through interactions with adults and peers. We fully believe in the potential of children and youth as active agents in realising their rights. In the Philippines we will work with youth in vulnerable situations, secondary school students, and youth from youth-led organisations since too many do not have the opportunity to develop their full potential and to protect themselves. We directly work with the local partners CYC, Bidlisiw and PETA who have a direct relation with children and youth through their work with schools, TVET providers, private sector, youth-led organisations. We believe that more impact can be generated at the level of the children and youth if we work in a structural manner with those educating, training and accompanying them. Our partnership strategy focuses on quality learning processes by strengthening skills, knowledge and networks with and between specialised local partners. By investing in the development of the capacities of partners and their reach, we contribute to a stronger civil society in our areas of intervention. These partners are considered as experts on youth empowerment with long-term expertise in their contexts. KIYO and Djapo consider themselves as experts and facilitators in this learning process who capitalise, accumulate and pass on good practices and expertise among themselves, the partners and important others. The partners will enable us to globalise our own local expertise and that of our partners through the scaling up of successful pilot projects. Actors working with children and youth, boys and girls, in (in/non-)formal education and private sector create a gender-sensitive quality learning environment based on GCE/ESD principles for Filipino children and youth to realise their rights, become active global citizens and contribute to a sustainable and just society.