On February 7 to 10, all roads lead to Alfonso, Cavite, for delegates of the 14th National Ayala Young Leaders Congress (AYLC).
Eighty-one of the country’s most promising youth leaders will attend the four-day congress to further enhance their leadership skills and build bonds with like-minded peers from all over the country.
With the theme, “Winning Hearts and Minds: Changing Paradigms,” the congress will have Department of Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro as keynote speaker.
This year’s AYLC aims to challenge participants to bring meaningful change to their schools and communities through one of the most essential steps in leadership: by winning the hearts and minds of the communities they serve.
“We want our participants to realize that the work of leadership and bringing about change necessarily involves winning and transforming the hearts and minds of the communities they lead,” says AYLC program director John Philip Orbeta.
Delegates of the congress come from a broad range of disciplines and were chosen not only for their academic achievement but also for their involvement in their respective schools or communities they serve. A total of 809 students from colleges and universities from across the Philippines sent applications, from which 81 delegates were selected after rigorous paper screening and panel interviews with Ayala group executives. They are from 56 higher education institutions including the Philippine Military Academy, the Philippine National Police Academy, and seminaries such as Mother of Good Counsel Seminary, Rogationist Seminary College – Manila, and the St. Augustine Seminary.
AYLC delegates will participate in four days of lectures, panel discussions, workshops and outdoor activities designed to hone their leadership potential and inspire them to lead lives of integrity and to work for the good of their community and country.
Aside from Sec. Luistro, notable figures from government, business, and the socio-civic and arts sectors will share their personal experiences in servant leadership. These include Philippine Air Force Commanding General Lt. Gen. Oscar Rabena, Ligao City Mayor Linda Gonzales, musician Noel Cabangon, and GMA7 journalist Kara David.
Also returning to the congress are AYLC alumni who will help inspire this year’s group of young leaders. Invited AYLC alumni as guest panel speakers are Roselle Ambubuyog (AYLC 2000), an access technology consultant for several foreign firms developing resources for the blind; Jay Neil Ancheta (AYLC 2001), regional volunteering development adviser of the Voluntary Service Overseas–Bahaginan Foundation, Inc.; and Christine dela Cruz (AYLC 2004), trade service officer/commercial attaché of the Department of Trade and Industry.
The Ayala Young Leaders Congress is the flagship program for youth development created in 1999 by the Ayala group of companies as a concrete expression of its commitment to national development. Now on its 14th year, AYLC continues to fuel the dream of nurturing a corps of servant leaders who will use their leadership to help uplift the lives of Filipinos.