Philippines, US partner to promote youth volunteerism

MANILA, Philippines — Bringing together over a hundred Peace Corps volunteers and their Filipino counterparts to promote active youth participation in community development, the United States and the Philippines are teaming up once again to promote and encourage volunteerism among the youth.

The US Peace Corps and the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency (PNVSCA) jointly hosted the second “Youth Volunteerism Workshop” in Subic, Zambales last week as part of such efforts.

Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the US embassy in Manila said this year’s workshop trained 41 Peace Corps volunteers, 82 Filipino volunteers and youth leaders on various volunteerism strategies, including recruiting techniques, building and managing connections, developing volunteerism frameworks, creating action plans and sharing of best practices on networking and collaboration.

Utilizing a “train the trainers” model, the workshop is projected to reach 10,000 youth.   

“I am excited to see how this year’s participants will replicate and scale up the success of their facilitators, reaching more youth, especially those who are currently out of school or at risk of dropping out,” USAID Philippines deputy education director Yvette Malcioln said in her opening remarks during the workshop held from Aug. 19 to 21.