Students' congress sees youth as change makers

MANILA, Philippines - Change, they say, is the only thing that’s permanent in this world. That’s why in this year’s PR Students’ Congress, slated to be held from Sept. 5 to 6, student participants can see a number of changes in the offing.

“We are very excited to launch this year’s Public Relations Students’ Congress,” says Chito Maniago, Sustainable Development manager of Pilipinas Shell, who is also chairman of this year’s PR Students’ Congress.

“For one, this year’s event will be held in a bigger venue, at the auditorium of the University of Santo Tomas, to accommodate a larger set of student participants. The topics, speakers chosen as well as the objectives of the congress have also been enhanced to help further increase college students’ appreciation of public relations, or PR,” he adds. 

Unlike previous year’s congresses, which centered mainly on PR topics and what students can learn from the industry, this year’s congress will focus more on what the event can give student participants that they themselves can use in their everyday lives.

“Before, parang binibigyan lang sila ng patikim (they’re only given a sampling) of what PR really is all about,” says Chito, himself an active student leader in his prime, having been awarded the Most Outstanding Youth Kapampangan in 2000.

“This year, we are pushing boundaries and even going beyond it. That’s why for this year’s event, we have invited organizations and youth leaders who we feel have made a difference in their respective fields.”

Invited to this year’s congress are youth leaders Bam Aquino, former National Youth Commission head; Rohaniza Sumdad, a Muslim youth leader who is now head of the Asia-America Initiative; Rafa Alunan of Yahoo! Philippines; and Chris Tiu, team captain of the RP national team that represented the country in the just-concluded FIBA-Asia Champions Club in Jakarta.

There’s Governor Grace Padaca, who successfully ousted a political clan in Isabela to bring new hope to this highly impoverished province, as well as Efren Peñaflorida and his Dynamic Teen Company, named CNN Heroes for their mobile school program using a kariton (pushcart), which gave out-of-school youths in Cavite an alternative to gang membership through education.

Unlike in previous editions of the event, a shorter, albeit catchier phrase, has also been chosen as the theme for this year: “We are the Changemakers!”

“We’d like to think that participants in this year’s event are the change makers or those who, in their own little way, were able to effect change. If you are sincere in what you have set out to do, you can definitely effect change,” Chito reasons.

“One can readily feel the desire and readiness to act among today’s youth just by simply looking at today’s blogging sites,” he adds. “Just post a socially relevant topic and in minutes, you’ll find that same blog already swamped with comments coming mostly from the youth sector.”

Coming right before election year 2010, the organizers of the event also thought of holding the “grand prix competition,” which challenges this year’s participants to develop a communication plan showing more creative ways to promote Voters Education in the Philippines.

Parts of the winning plan will be utilized by the PPCRV (Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting) and NAMFREL (National Movement for Free Elections), two organizations that have also affected change in past national elections.

Seen as a prelude to the annual PR Congress of the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP) next year, Chito vows that this year’s event will usher in a new kind of PR Students’ Congress — one that will serve as an eye-opener and make participants ask themselves: “What do I really want for myself and my country in the next 10 years?”