Youth Fellowship Program for Democracy in Philippines

Deadline: 28-Feb-21

YouthLed is launching its first Youth Leadership Development Program — Leadership and Democracy (LEAD) Fellowship to help achieve its goal of developing the political leadership skills, knowledge, and attitude of promising young leaders.

Through LEAD, the YouthLed Young Leaders will develop their capacity to navigate, engage, and optimize platforms for democratic governance through issue-based campaigns and development programs. This Fellowship offers FREE training and skills development program for the selected YouthLed Young Leaders. They will also get access to grants, network building opportunities, and FULL Scholarships to training programs offered by prestigious institutions with recognized expertise in leadership development, formation, project management, and political governance.

The Leadership and Democracy Fellowship is a two-year program specially curated for 30 youth leaders aged 18—30 from diverse backgrounds. The Fellowship will strengthen their capacity to navigate, engage, and optimize platforms for democratic governance across all levels.

Beyond personal skills and knowledge, the program will seek to ground youth leadership with a deeper appreciation of democracy, democratic values, structures, and systems. This Fellowship will provide full training programs with their esteemed partner educational institutions. There will also be access to grants, network building opportunities, and participation in all YouthLed activities and programs.

The YouthLed Leadership Framework

The YouthLed Leadership Framework is grounded on democratic principles that translate to the following core aspects of leadership:

• Pagtugon (Responding)
  • Can articulate their response to an issue grounded on personal and collective values;
  • Has a clear understanding of one’s vision for the self and others;
  • Strikes a balance between stability of responsibilities and openness to changes in their work if it’s for the best interest of their constituents;
  • Willingness to improve oneself in order to lead others in responding to prominent issues of the time.
• Pamumuno (Leading)
  • Recognizes that they lead mainly for the people;
  • Has the ability to listen and connect with their constituents;
  • Has capability to anchor their actions to serve the best interests of their constituents;
  • Is able to create virtual or physical platforms to provide spaces for their constituents to provide feedback and suggest ideas.
• Pamamahagi (Sharing)
  • Leads by example;
  • Has competencies to plan, implement, and improve programs that has positive impact to a particular sector;
  • Learns about developments of social and political issues fast and comes up with immediate action;
  • Knowledgeable on the emerging issues globally and locally—particularly those that affect their sector/constituents.

Why Join LEAD?

Apart from making history by being part of the first long-term leadership program in the country that champions democratic values, participatory governance, and civic engagement, you will also enjoy the following benefits:

1. Opportunity for all
   • YouthLed believes in providing equal opportunities regardless of one’s background, geographical origin, gender, belief system, and social status. The LEAD Fellowship opens its doors to individuals from the PWD sector, indigenous peoples, and LGBTQI+ communities.
2. A chance to access grants and funding for your organization
   • They know how important funding is to make your ideas come to life or sustain your key projects. Participants of the LEAD Fellowship will have access to a Fellowship Grant to support their organizational programs upon onboarding and an opportunity to be one of the recipients of a Democracy Grant to support proposed democracy initiatives.
3. Access to tailored-fit skills development training
   • Each YouthLed Young Leader will be assessed on their individual strengths and capabilities and will be provided with a customized leadership program that will enhance skills, knowledge, and leadership capabilities based on democratic ideals and principles.
4. Real-world application of training
   • Theybelieve that learning through a program is just as important as learning-by-doing. They’ve put up several opportunities for you to apply what you’ll learn in leadership development, project management, and political governance. Get a chance to develop and implement first-hand your project proposals, participate in deliberative youth forums, and attend legislative processes of local government units (LGUs) with us!
5. Practice your agency as Youth Leaders
   • You are their partners, not just beneficiaries. You drive the ideas, priorities, and innovation of the work they do. Hence, they will involve you in all steps of program planning, implementation, and review of their mobilization activities.
6. Join an expansive network of mentors
   • When you join us, you will get access to a strong network of private and public organizations, communities, and local government leaders for further mentoring and training support such as the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), Ateneo School of Government (ASOG), and Ayala Foundation, Inc. (AFI).
7. Be a part of the YouthLed network!
   • Being a YouthLed Young Leader will give you access to all YouthLed events, activities, and networks both internationally and locally.

Eligibility Criteria

• A Filipino citizen residing in the Philippines;
• An emerging youth leader between 18—30 years of age;
• An active member of a private, public, civil society organization, educational institution, and community organization;
• Champions civic engagement, democratic participation, and activities for the benefit of their communities;
• Has an outstanding personal character and integrity;
• Has an outstanding record of experience and immersion with youth-related activities, youth individuals, and youth groups;
• Willing to be an active YouthLed Young Leader throughout the duration of the YouthLed program.

For more information, visit https://www.youthledph.org/