In this Issue - The Japan Foundation, Manila

12 FEATURE
“I am aware that the
future is still very
much uncertain. But
with new friends,
creative ways of
doing things, and
agreements to work
together, I feel a
little less anxious
- knowing that the
future is going to be
shared and shaped
by the young leaders
of today.”
The “JENESYS, New Beginnings: Promoting an East Asia Community, Role of Young
Leaders in Building a Shared Future” was held in Manila, Philippines last June 12
to 17, 2010. It brought together twenty-six JENESYS Asia Future Leaders Program
Alumni from the Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Lao PDR,
India, Indonesia and Thailand. The group spent four days of renewing ties and building
new relationships with one another. The event was highlighted by exposure trips to
successful practices of Philippine organizations such as the Gawad Kalinga, Neo-Angono
Arts Collective and the Laguna Lake Development Authority. The activity culminated
with an agreed activity, Day 1: Building a Shared Future.
Three months after the program, I remember three things that I gained from that
program:
1. A common understanding of the present reality can help us become more
creative, enable us to lead and to start working together.
Even if the focus of the exposure trips were mainly Philippine organizations, it still
reflected issues that Asia currently faces, and the corresponding efforts being made
to address those issues. They served as a trigger for us, the participants, to start feeling
and talking about what it is like to be a citizen not only of our respective countries,
but of Asia as a whole. These realities provided us glimpses of issues that we are
confronted with, and the possible solutions that we can do as young leaders.
Our common understanding was borne out of reflection and seeing clearly what
the present is telling us. During the trips, we were open to lessons. But we also
did not shield our eyes from the grim realities that the Philippines and Asia face as
a continent. When we saw that our problems are not solely our own, we realized
that there were plenty of reasons to start working together.
Photo courtesy of Yasmin Tang
Discovering
New B
Insights from JENESYS
New Beginnings:
Promoting an East
Asia Community, Role
of Young Leaders in
Building a Shared
Future.
By Jerry Jose