Pinoy is outstanding young person of the world

Illac Diaz of the Philippines has been named one of The Outstanding Young Persons of the World (TOYP) by the Jaycees International (JCI).

The award formally recognizes 10 individuals between the ages of 18 and 40 who exemplify the finest attributes of the world’s young people.

The award will be given at the JCI World Congress in November in Seoul, South Korea. Previous winners of the TOYP include actor Jackie Chan, entrepreneur Anthony Robbins, Australian aviation pioneer Janine Shepherd, Filipino writer Rene Villanueva and Filipino entrepreneur Jay Bernardo.

Hundreds of TOYM (Ten Outstanding Young Men) awardees from over 110 JCI member countries were nominated for the international honor. Diaz received the 2005 TOYM for social entrepreneurship from the Philippine Jaycees. Diaz is the first social entrepreneur to be so honored.

Earlier this year, Diaz headed the team that topped the $100K Entrepreneurship Competition at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston for the project CentroMigrante, a self-help business model that provides clean, safe and affordable urban housing for the thousands of Filipinos who come to Manila to look for jobs as seamen.

His team also won the first and second prizes of the MIT’s IDEAS Competition, which seeks out creative ideas that make a positive impact on the world. The team took the grand prize with their First Step Coral project, which uses a turbine powered by sea currents to energize a wire frame on which corals grow four times faster than normal. They took the silver prize with their replicable, low-cost cement peanut sheller.

Diaz set up the 40-room Pier One Seafarer’s Dormitory in Intramuros in 2000 to meet the need for temporary housing for seaman applicants. Pier One has been operating successfully and today has three branches with over 1,500 beds. He also founded the MyShelter Foundation, which builds low-cost classrooms using the Earthbag Construction System.

Diaz completed this year a research fellowship in the Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies at the MIT. He holds a Master’s in Entrepreneurship degree from the Asian Institute of Management. He was on the national track and field team to the Asian Youth Games and Asian Games from 1988 to 1995, and was the national decathlon champion from 1991 to 1993.