Rationale
Community youth organizing is a fundamental action in a
democracy. It is a tool to invite the youth to come together and discuss their
issues and concerns and orchestrate action. This interplay of ideas, opinions
and action are essential element of good governance. It is also a space where
the youth could collectively opine to the government actions and at the same
time engage in policy making. However, we have not concretely capacitated our
democratic space.
We have developed a Barangay Youth Development Organizing
Program. It is under the Leadership and Values Development towards Good
Governance thrust which is one of the key areas of action of the Oro Youth
Council. Its main purpose is to organize the youth of the selected pilot
barangays with the hope of doing the same in all 80 Barangays of our city. And
in the long run, the organized youth shall articulate and lobby their youth
agenda to their barangay council.
The starting point of the program is a half-day barangay
youth convergence which shall be organized by each of the pilot barangays. The government
interns who happen to reside in these pilot barangays and some volunteers will
be deployed in the field to organize a half-day summit. At the end of the
event, the delegates to the convergence shall be able to elect their own
officers and representatives to the following sectors: in-school, out of
school, indigenous people and moro youth, youth movements, and the youth with
special needs.
This shall then be the start-of-point of youth engagements in
the barangay level starting off with youth profiling, strategic planning,
project implementation and performance evaluation.
It is the ultimate hope of the Oro Youth Development Council
to capacitate these organizations to become forces of good governance the years
to come.
ORGANIZING PHASES
Phase 1: Establish communication
lines with Barangay Captain and Barangay Council
Phase 2: Area mapping and core leadership
formation
Phase 3: Creation of federation
Phase 4: Needs assessment and focus
group discussion
Phase 5: Strategic Planning
_________________________________________________________________________________
Phase 1: Establish communication
lines with Barangay Captain and Barangay Council
The support of the Barangay Captain and Barangay Council is
critically essential in establishing a barangay youth organization. Once the
political leadership buys in the concept, then it would be easier to mobilize
and access resources.
Here are the essential steps in establishing communication
lines with the barangay government
1.
Set
an informal meeting with the barangay captain and reveal your intentions on
organizing the youth. It is vital that the youth organizer would provide a
general over view of the areas this organization can potentially engage in. it
is advisable that you articulate the 5-point local youth development agenda
since it would add more weight, credibility and direction to your intention. (see
attachment for the copy of the youth agenda)
2.
Formalize
the intention by writing a letter to the barangay captain. (see attached
sample)
3.
Get
the number of the social worker or barangay officer that is in charge of youth
affairs. Generally, the Kagawad on the youth committee is in charge. Some barangays
also have their own social worker.
4.
Hold
an initial meeting with the barangay in-charge of youth affairs together with
your youth volunteers. It is advisable that the subject matter of the meeting
is the next step which is area mapping and leadership profiling.
Phase 2: Area mapping and core leadership
formation
Once the barangay council supports the move which maybe
manifested by an informal approval of the Barangay Captain or maybe even
through a formal resolution, the next step is area mapping and leadership
profiling.
Here are the essential steps:
1.
This
is mapping out the zones in which you intend to form youth organizations considering
your resource limitations.
2.
With
the help of the barangay official or leaders of the zones, you select a core
group of at least 5 members per zone who are already active leaders in their
vicinity.
3.
Meet
each of these 5 members and relay to them the intention to create an
organization and make them see the reason behind the creation
4.
Get
their commitment that each member of the core group will also get at least 4
youth to commit to the organization. Ideally, each zone must have 20 members.
a. The core group should consider
recruiting youth from different sectors such as
i. In-school youth – these are youth
leaders who are currently enrolled in an educational institution.
ii. Out of school youth – youth who are
of school age but are not enrolled in an educational institution and does not
have a stable employment
iii. Youth with special needs – persons
with disabilities, victims of conflict and disasters, or marginalized youth
iv. Faith based youth – youth who are
active leaders in their respective churches
v. IP-Moro youth – youth that are
cultural minorities of the community
5.
Give
them 1.5 weeks to recruit
6.
Meet
all of the new recruits and relay to them the reason of the action. It is
advisable to always go back to the local youth development agenda as a starting
point in the conversation. Emphasize that the youth should be organized to
participate in building a better barangay through the action agenda enumerated
in the local youth development agenda.
7.
Facilitate
an election for the zone. Each zone should have a
a. President – oversees and directs the
activities of the zone
b. Vice-president – assists the
president in his duties
c. Secretary-general – documents the
activities and record all the minutes of the meeting
d. Treasurer – handles the finances and
regularly report the financial status of the organization
e. Auditor – audits the financial status
8.
Have
them organize a very basic project such as community cleaning or gardening to
facilitate team building and bonding.
Phase 3: Creation of a federation
Barangay Kauswagan oath taking ceremony and launching of the youth organization
1.
Call
an assembly of all the presidents and vice-presidents of the different zones.
The purpose of the meeting (election of federation officers) should be included
in the notice.
2.
Relay
the intention to create a federation. It is primarily for cohesive action and
unity for the barangay youth.
3.
Facilitate
an election for the federation.
a. President – oversees and directs the
activities of the federation
b. Vice-president – assists the
president in his duties
c. Secretary-general – documents the
activities and record all the minutes of the meeting
d. Treasurer – handles the finances and
regularly report the financial status of the organization
e. Auditor – audits the financial status
4.
Then
the youth board or its equivalent shall be composed of the presidents of the
different zones.
5.
You
can also include here the creation of committees such as for education, health,
environment, peace and order, program development
6.
Agree
on a date for a symbolic oath taking and public celebration of the creation of
the federation. This event should be forwarded to the barangay government for
approval and support.
7.
Press
releases should be provided which should contain the basic purpose of the
organization and the list of its members. Forward it to local media and spread
in social networking sites.
Phase 4: Needs assessment and focus
group discussion
Once the leadership community is established, the next
logical step for the organization is to conduct a needs assessment research on
the demands and needs of the youth per zone.
The suggested format on the youth focus group discussions are as
follows:
1.
What
is your vision in the youth for your zones
2.
What
are the strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and challenges of your zone in
terms of youth issues
3.
What
are actions that can meet the challenges and weaknesses
4.
What
form of government support can be advocated to meet these challenges
The core group of each zone shall create a summary report of
the results of the assessment
Phase 5: Strategic Planning
The Oro Youth Development Council can provide strategic
planning sessions based on the results of the needs assessments per zone.
1.
The
articulated needs of the zones should be translated into policy agenda
articulation.
Issue: There is a
clogged drainage in our zone that causes dengue and flooding
Translation into a policy agenda: The barangay should
establish constant drainage cleaning operation and a policy of waste
segregation in the households near the canal ways.
2.
Identity
the expected outcome if the policy agenda is implemented
Example: There will be a reduced
flooding and lower cases of diseases in the area
3.
What
is the youth action to support the policy agenda (This is where your activity
or program sets in)
Example: Youth advocacy on waste
segregation and drainage clean up day
4.
Identify
a key performance indicator that shows the interventions are working
Example: reduced dengue cases by 20%.
No more flooding during a signal 1 storm.
5.
What
are the resources needed for youth action?
Example: 1,000 snacks, 1,000 t-shirt,
1,000 -tarp
The sample template of a strategic plan is:
Agenda
|
Activity
|
Expected outcome
|
Success Indicators
|
Cost
|
The barangay
should establish constant drainage cleaning operation and a policy of waste
segregation in the households near the canal ways.
|
Youth advocacy on
waste segregation and drainage clean up day
|
There will be a
reduced flooding and lower cases of diseases in the area
|
Reduced dengue
cases by 20%. No more flooding during a signal 1 storm.
|
Php 3,000
|
BARANGAY
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AGENDA SAMPLE
A. Access
to quality education and skills development towards employment
a.
Invest in multi-sectoral participation and youth
private – public partnerships in reducing the drop out rate and increase the
NAT results. Create anti-piso net teams and monitor establishments near
schools.
b.
Invest on school infrastructure, cloud-based
knowledge, and teachers’ development in consonance with K-12
c.
Evaluate and integrate the different vocational
courses offered by different agencies and create venues for youth with special
needs access to education
B.
Sustainable Living and Youth dimension in
Disaster risk reduction and management
a.
Increase green patches in the barangay to encourage
urban gardening and greening. Create barangay youth gardens.
b.
The barangay should increase youth-led action in
disaster risk reduction and management and environmental protection.
c.
The barangay should strictly implement the
provisions of the Solid Waste Management Act and create incentives for
households that segregate
C.
Health and Child Development
a.
The barangay should monitor and invest in the
barangay day care centers and improve hygienic habits
b.
The barangay should also monitor creeks that
might become potential breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other pests
c.
The barangay should adopt a comprehensive
program aimed at reducing the presence of street children and return them to
productive life
d.
Invest in intensive police and citizen
monitoring on known drug-dens, child-trafficking entry points and child
prostitution areas, apprehend suspects in accordance with law, and adopt gender
appropriate interventions
D. Public
Safety, Peace and Youth’s access to justice
a.
The barangay should continue to improve street
lighting during night
b.
Evaluate effectvitiy of curfew and create
Barkadahan laban sa droga
c.
The barangay should assess and review its
facilities and processes on children in conflict with the law
d.
The barangay should continue to be strict in
monitoring bars and entertainment areas specially near centers of learning
E. Leadership
and Values formation towards good governance
a.
Invest in youth profiling and barangay youth
organizing and empowerment
b.
Invest in an independent youth leadership
formation program that anchors in political education and good governance in
public service for youth leaders
c.
Creation of a policy on transparency and
mechanism for people’s participation in barangay governance
SAMPLE
LETTER TO THE BARANGAY CAPTAIN
April
28, 2014
XXXXXXXXX
Barangay Captain
Barangay Captain
XXXXXX
Dear
Hon. Patriana:
PEACE!
The Oro Youth Development Council, a youth-led and
agenda-based coalition of different youth organizations from 6 sectors has been
organized and recognized by the local government unit of Cagayan de Oro as the
city-wide recommending and coordinating body relating to youth concerns and
youth action. The 6 sectors are namely (1) in school youth (2) out if school
youth (3) youth with special needs (4) faith based youth (5) youth movements
(6) IP and Moro Youth.
The youth council is presently engaged in 5 areas of
concerns namely (1) access to quality education (2) urban sustainability and
disaster (3) child development and health (4) public safety and access to
juvenile justice (5) leadership formation towards good governance.
In order to partner and engage the barangay
government in achieving its vision for the barangay, the Oro youth development
council is more than willing to help in organizing the youth of our beloved
barangay. We intend to mobilize the youth per zone/sitio/purok and federate
them. In this light, we are humbly asking for your support in this endeavor.
We are hoping in the long run that our barangay will
become a model in barangay youth empowerment and this requires the first steps
in mobilizing our youth with your support.
please feel free to contact us through
xxxxxxx. We intend to commence as soon as your good office will give the
go signal.
Sincerely Yours,
XXXXXXX
Sectoral Representative
Sectoral Representative
Oro Youth Development Council
Noted by:
XXXXXXXX
Chairperson
Chairperson
Oro Youth Development Council
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