AMIDST a global pandemic, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Youth Engagement Summit (AYES) was held last July 16-18 via Zoom. AYES International was formed in 2017 to train student leaders, future managers, and entrepreneurs as well as to build meaningful relationships and connections. More than 10,000 leaders have now been trained by the organization.

Every Cent Counts

Kick-starting the summit was Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo who delivered the opening remarks. She capped off her encouraging speech by saying that a person can never be too young to create change.

The moderator of the summit’s first day was Jazel Ann Castillo, Ambassador of “Thought for Food”. The speakers were: Carlo P. Valencia, co-founder of Startup PH Training, and Dr. Andrew Stotz, Chief Executive Officer of A. Stotz Investment Research. The presenters were Josh Alas, a Human Resource and Administrative Executive of Cushman and Wakefield, and AYES International Chairman Josuard Infante Gonzales.

In his talk, Valencia focused on the advantages of starting a business and the importance of earning passive income. He also gave tips on starting a business during the pandemic. Dr. Stotz meanwhile discussed six ways to lose money and contrasted it with six strategies to win money. Lastly, Alas delivered a presentation on opportunities aimed at unleashing the delegates’ potential and inspiring them towards excellence.

Act Big, Win Big

For the summit’s second day, the moderators were Christelle Agustin and Erwin Lizarondo. The esteemed speakers were: Dr. Ian Lee, the Executive Director of the Environmental Reporting Collective, and Joal Cea Cocjin, the National Vice Chairperson for Luzon of Kabataang Lingkod Bayan ng Pilipinas. Dr. Lee expounded on following one’s passion while Cocjin dealt with the topic of creating healthy and interactive communities.

Another speaker, Dani Moynihan, talked about personal development and how it will help student leaders have the right attitude in leadership. Jessie Lacuna, the Vice Chair POC Athletes Commission, spoke on sportsmanship, humility, and assertiveness. Mark Jacinto, National President of We Make Change PH, talked about setting short and long term goals.

Skills n’ Thrills

On the final day of the summit, the delegates were treated to the extraordinary performances of Arshela Abdullah who is the reigning Miss Petite Sarawak, Denice Lao who is a singer-songwriter and co-host of the “Song in Focus” podcast, and Miss Ramonne likewise a singer-songwriter.

Student leaders from our very own Student Executive Council (SEC) and Junior Philippine Institute of Accountants (JPIA) were among the delegates, namely: SEC External Vice President, Mae Krystine G. Respeto (IV-BSP), 2nd Year Level Representative Francesca Medina (II-BAP), and JPIA Communications Officer II Dana Marchelle Miranda (II-BSA).

The Bedan Herald interviewed the Bedans who participated in the summit. Respeto said: “AYES International Summit 2021 is all about creating a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable world by conducting training and development programs for student leaders, future managers, and entrepreneurs.” Medina meanwhile said that “AYES 2021 was all about exposing the youth, especially the student leaders, [to] different opportunities and career paths as the 3-day event contained meaningful talks. It was also a place for meeting new people from different areas of the world as we were divided into breakout rooms to get to know each other.” 

Reflecting on the summit’s significance, Miranda remarked: “The event was not just focused on leadership and teamwork. It was also about passion, self-awareness and development, and many more life skills and knowledge that each and every student leader must learn and reflect [on] to be able to serve their respective teams and organizations better.”