ADDU hosts the 2024 CEAP Youth Leadership Summit
Second and third year student leaders from CEAP schools in Visayas and Mindanao gathered together at the Ateneo de Davao University from March 21-23, 2024 for a leadership summit. In partnership with the Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan (SLB), this year’s CEAP Youth Leadership Summit aimed to hone their leadership skills, to deepen their commitment to being engaged citizens, and ignite a desire for social transformation as a community of young leaders. The theme was inspired by Pope Francis’s call to synodality.
The participants were greeted by CEAP Vice-President Fr. Mauricio T. Ulep, CMF, who explained the meaning of synodality and the role played by the youth in the building of the Church. CEAP Deputy Executive Director Ms. Mary Ann S. Cruz, overall coordinator of the project, told the participants that the Summit was initiated to help them become better leaders by exposing them to new ideas and other communities. Leaders need to listen to the ideas and the needs of other to serve more effectively. She then turned over the floor to Nikki Frias of SLB who facilitated the 3-day event.
The first day of the Summit was lined up with workshops on leadership (e.g. leadership laboratories, sessions on discernment), games, and sharing sessions. Participants were made to reflect on their personal journeys as young leaders, their leadership approaches, their motivations, as well as their aspirations. In the different activities, they were asked to share them with their co-participants, and the games were designed to make them work together through teamwork and collaboration. Even the students’ chaperones were afforded their own sessions. The day closed with a visit from Fr. Karel S. San Juan, SJ, President of the Ateneo de Davao University, who shared his own personal leadership journey. In his address, Fr. San Juan urged the participants to use their strengths to build a better future for the country.
With the help of the Arrupe Office of Social Formation of the University, the student leaders visited various communities in Davao City on the morning of the second day. This immersion activity was designed to open their eyes to the lives of the poor, and what they, as leaders, can do for the less fortunate. Many of these communities resided in hillsides and among the urban poor. The students met their host families upon arrival. They cooked food, ate together, and shared stories before being brought back to the Ateneo de Davao before noon. The afternoon was devoted to reflection and the processing of the students’ experiences from their respective communities. This was followed by a National Situationer session given by SLB Program Officer Joshua Rich G. Valentin. The Situationer discussed the reality of poverty and the need for meaningful programs to alleviate the lives of poor communities across the country. The students were treated to a lighthearted evening gathering (Socials Night) filled with games and music. They also wrote letters to each other before the end of the gathering.
After a short morning meditation on the third day, CEAP Deputy Executive Director Ms. Mary Ann S. Cruz delivered a special session on transformative education through the JEEPGY Pillar programs. She explained each pillar and how she hoped that the students would understand and appreciate them as they traverse new paths as leaders. The following session, “Advocacy 101”, was given by SLB Associate Director Ms. Cecille M. Turrecha. Ms. Turrecha taught the student-leaders to be mindful of their goals, visions, and advocacies, and how to communicate them effectively. Finally, a talk on social transformation and a commitment to nation building was given by Ms. Gwyneth Marie M. Vasquez, a research assistant at the Ateneo Institute of Anthropology. Ms. Vasquez told the participants that the path of a leader is not an easy path, but what makes it worthwhile is the cause that is being fought for. It is up to each person to choose how to lead and where we want to bring those whom we lead, and to persevere amidst the challenges that ensue in the process.
Shortly before the Closing Ceremonies, the participants attended a vigil Mass for Palm Sunday at the Our Lady of Assumption Chapel. This was followed by the Closing Program presided by Fr. Karel S. San Juan, SJ. After a missioning rite, the certificates were distributed to the participants and their chaperones. The bright and beautiful chapel was afterwards filled with laughs, tears, and cheers, sending forth each leader in the footsteps of its Patroness – looking up and lighting the way for other souls.