Goodwill ambassadors off to Malaysia today

By The Philippine delegation to the Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program 2005, including The FREEMAN news reporter Joeberth Ocao and Siquijor teacher Shiela Tuale, representing Region 7, flies to Malaysia today as the 32nd year of the goodwill exchange program commences in Kuala Lumpur.

The delegation, composed of 29 Filipino youth leaders, will meet for the very first time their contemporaries from ten member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. They are scheduled to board the Japanese luxury ship Nippon Maru, the program's official carrier.

From Malaysia, the Nippon Maru will bring the participating youths to Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, here in the Philippines and Japan wherein they will have the chance to experience home stay in each country and participate in activities in discussion groups, solidarity groups and other cultural and goodwill exchanges.

Each delegation will showcase cultural presentations in each port of call and a two-hour National Day Presentation on board the ship. The delegation of the country to which the ship would be heading next will hold its NDP a night before the ship docks in that particular country.

Last November 3, the Philippine delegation successfully held its send-off concert at the Land Bank Theater in Malate, Manila that featured the cultural presentations it will showcase during the program.

The send-off concert dubbed as "The Story Of My Nation" gave SSEAYP alumni and the family of the delegates and their friends a chance to see the different Philippine folk dances and songs that would later on be presented before the other foreign delegations. The alumni of the SSEAYP described the send-off concert as one of the best in the history of the program. Senator Edgardo Angara attended as guest speaker.

This year's Philippine delegation takes on the name Paglaum, a Visayan term for hope. It also stands for "PAGLAlakbay tungo sa Umaga" or journey towards a prosperous tomorrow.