It’s a youth-focused month.
Three global events that make young people the centerpiece of activities are scheduled this month. These are the World Youth Day (Aug. 1-6), the 25th World Scout Jamboree (Aug. 1-12), and International Youth Day (Aug. 12).
The events are scheduled this month as most young people are apparently on their summer break from school.
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World Youth Day is an event of the Catholic Church that provides an occasion for young people to gather together to “deepen their faith, experience the universality of the church and commit their lives to Christ alongside hundreds of thousands of like-minded peers.”
The 2023 event was held in Lisbon, Portugal and will be held next in 2027 in Seoul, South Korea. The previous gathering – in 2019 – was hosted by Panama City.
Attendance peaked on closing day, when Pope Francis addressed about 1.5 million pilgrims in a mass. The Pope called on young people not to be afraid in pursuing their dreams to change the world as he also underscored that their faith can lead to peace.
Reports indicated that Spain registered the biggest delegation with about 77,000 participants followed by Italy (almost 60,000), host Portugal (about 48,000), France (42,000) and the United States (19,000).
Also among the participants were about 100 Filipino volunteers.
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The scouting jamboree was held in Saemangeum, North Jeolla in the county of Buan in South Korea.
The global event focused on the theme, “Draw Your Dream”, and aimed “to promote sustainability, global citizenship, and cultural understanding.”
The campsite is located in the southwestern part of the country, about 230 kms. from Seoul, on the coast of the Yellow Sea.
About 43,000 scouts from 158 countries attended the jamboree, which saw some delegations pulling out from the campsite, reportedly, because of extreme heat due to lack of natural shade and unsanitary conditions.
Authorities later ordered the campsite evacuated due to an impending typhoon which was feared to bring floods to the area with the remaining activities, including the K-pop concerts on closing night, moved to the capital city.
We will feature next issue a perspective of the scouting jamboree as experienced by a Bacoleño scout.
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International Youth Day, said UNESCO, is “bringing youth issues to the attention of the international community and celebrating the potential of youth as partners in today’s global society.”
The United Nations General Assembly designated Aug. 12 as IYD in 1999. The event since then has served as a platform focusing on the role of young men and women as partners in change and an opportunity to raise awareness on challenges and concerns they are facing.
The IYD theme this year is “Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World”.
Explaining the theme, UN said “green skills are ‘knowledge, abilities, values and attitudes needed to live in, develop and support a sustainable and resource-efficient society’.”
These include technical knowledge and skills that enable the effective use of green technologies and processes in occupational settings, as well as transversal skills that draw on a range of knowledge, values and attitudes to facilitate environmentally sustainable decisions in work and in life, UN added.
Due to their interdisciplinary nature, the essence of green skills is sometimes expressed, partly if not wholly, through other associated terms such as “skills for the future” and “skills for green jobs”, UN further added.
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Writing of youth and leadership, I am deeply saddened by the passing away of remarkable former student leaders during my college days at Central Philippine University in Iloilo City.
Lawyer Alejandro ‘Bingboy’ Somo and Dr. Merna Rico-Lopez slipped into eternity three days apart – on Aug. 3 and 5, respectively, both at the age of 76.
They both served as president of the CPU Republic, the oldest student council in Southeast Asia.
Their deaths came shortly after the passing away of former CPU President, Dr. Juanito Acanto Sr., on July 30.
Bingboy was CPUR president during my sophomore year, when I was elected to the House of Representatives.
I remember him as a very amiable and humble guy, traits which he carried throughout his professional life.
He later served for almost two decades as a member and as secretary of the University Board of Trustees, alumni association president, sports director and also as a member of the CPU Corporation at the time of his death.
Dr. Rico was my Speech and Oral Interpretation professor. I remember fondly our class where we had to deliver and interpret poems and speeches. Most unforgettable was our midterm oral examination – interpreting William Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.”
“Deliver it with feelings, like when you are greeted by a spectacle of bright flowers,” she told us. Recalling the blooms of wild flowers growing behind my grade school, I immersed myself into that glorious scene as I stood in front of the class.
For that, I think, I left an impression with her that I got a flat 1.0 at the end of the semester.
Dr. Rico later transferred to West Visayas State University, where she served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and also of the Student Affairs Office.
WVSU paid tribute to her as “a guiding light”, “a visionary leader”, one who left behind “a lasting legacy”.
Doc Merna, who was cremated, and Bingboy were laid to rest Aug. 9 and 12, respectively.
I join the bereaved families, especially Bingboy’s widow – former CPU Nursing Dean Lily Lyn Velasco-Somo, my batchmate – in celebrating the lives of these two former youth leaders and inspiring professionals.
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Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”. (Ecclesiastes 12:1) – NWI
