Leadership formation towards good governance

Leadership and Values formation  towards good governance

Good governance cannot be achieved without people empowerment.

In our political tradition, it is only during elections that we hold our public officials accountable. And when the fervor of election pass, we then go back to our ordinary lives and disengage – letting the politicians do their own thing. This should not be the case if we want a government that is responsive to the needs of its bosses. That is why engagement with government should be sustained all throughout the term of the leader. It is in this constant dialogue that ideas mature, trust builds and action multiplies. Accountability and transparency should be constantly demanded.

The youth calls on city hall to strengthen these partnerships with civil society by institutionalizing mechanisms of people’s participation in local governance. Though it is already a policy of the state to do so, the local government unit should creatively expand it as what have been done by other LGUs through a People’s Council.

The youth’s role is vital in building strong political institutions. We should be seen as partners and not merely as manpower volunteers. Our experiences engaging with government in meaningful programs posses tremendous formative value. We shift from a mentality of being mere recipients of services to real partners that engage the policy and direction of the community.  

YOUTH POLICY AGENDA

The youth leaders raised the following policy agenda.

1.     Invest in youth profiling and barangay youth organizing and empowerment. The needs of the youth in the barangay level should be identified and prioritized in order to guide the barangay government and the barangay youth leaders in forming their strategic interventions. The city should also invest in capacity buildings for barangay youth organizations that focus on organizational development, engaged citizenship formation and basic political education.

  

2.     Invest in an independent youth leadership formation program that anchors in political education and good governance in public service for youth leaders. The city through the Oro Youth Development Council should also invest in the formation of youth policy-makers. Those youth councilors who sit as representatives to different local bodies should be given skills training on basic policy analysis and making, social advocacy, and basic law.

3.     Creation of a policy on transparency and mechanism for people’s participation in local governance. To ultimately sustain the gains of people’s participation in local governance, the city should enact an ordinance that institutionalizes civil society participation in the direction of the city. These body becomes the official people’s representative to local government which shall then choose who will sit in the different bodies. This is a bottoms-up approach. It is not the executive who will choose who sits as people’s representatives but the people themselves would choose. This is also an entry point for pushing a people’s agenda.

                                                                                                      

ORO Youth Parallel Action

Oro Youth Engaged Citizenship Program

This program has two components namely (1) Barangay Youth Leadership Development Program (2) Oro Youth Political Education Program. The first program provides the organized youth of the barangay resources to help them develop the organization. This includes seminars on strategic planning, needs assessment, project evaluation and monitoring. The OYDC also provides researches on the basic needs of the youth in their particular barangay. The second program provides an educational program to the different youth councilors and local body representatives. This includes policy analysis and policy making, developing social advocacies and mobilizing resources.  

People’s Council Advocacy

The OYDC strongly supports the creation of the Cagayan de Oro People’s Council in order to strengthen and institutionalize people’s participation in local governance.