UP has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to host the ASEAN Youth Volunteer Programme (AYVP) later this year.
Officials of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), which is the secretariat of the programme, and UP signed the documents simultaneously at their respective headquarters during an online meeting on May 7, 2021. They entered into a partnership, with UP hosting the month-long training and deployment of 50 youth volunteers from ASEAN later this year.
UP Vice President for Public Affairs Elena Pernia represented UP President Danilo Concepcion, and UKM Deputy Vice Chancellor for Industry, Alumni and Community Partnerships Imran Ho Abdullah represented UKM Vice Chancellor Mohd Hamdi Abd Shukor, as signatories of the MOA.
From UP, the witnesses included UP Vice President for Academic Affairs Cynthia Rose Bautista and Ugnayan ng Pahinungod Director Grace Aguiling-Dalisay. Aguiling-Dalisay chairs the UP Organizing Committee for AYVP Philippines 2021. From UKM, the witnesses included Aguiling-Dalisay’s counterpart, UKM University Community Transformation Centre Director Rokiah Hj Omar.
“Today, we celebrate the beginning of a new strategic partnership between UKM and UP for the ASEAN Youth Volunteer Programme Philippines 2021,” Abdullah, delivering Shukor’s message, said. “This strong collaboration is rooted in the strength of the ASEAN University Network of which UP is a member,” he added.
UKM and UP first co-hosted the AYVP in 2016, along with Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University. The theme was disaster risk management. This year, it is “Strengthening ASEAN Education Delivery Systems in Challenging Times”.
“Studying and collecting the array of new experiences and lessons from crises, from the people directly affected and directly involved, is our call today. The eighth AYVP is thus an event of great serendipity, for both our youth volunteers and us, universities,” Pernia, delivering Concepcion’s message, said.
UP’s hosting of the programme was originally scheduled in 2020, but it was postponed because of the pandemic. The 2021 programme will start the call for facilitators and volunteers soon.
AYVP aims to uphold declarations of ASEAN toward caring communities, regional identity, and volunteerism. Malaysia proposed the establishment of the programme in 2011 to focus on the youth of the region between 18 and 30 years old.
Fifty youth volunteers are chosen each year for orientation and leadership training, followed by community immersion. Alumni are expected to plan and propose volunteerism projects for their own communities based on the knowledge they acquired from the program. Grants and mentoring are provided for the qualified projects.
