MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO) Foundation has announced its 21st National Awarding Ceremony, an event celebrating outstanding youth-led initiatives across the country. This year’s ceremony will take place on August 19, from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm at the Metropolitan Theater in Ermita, Manila.
This year’s TAYO Awards theme centers on makabayani, a play on the words makabayan (love for one’s country) and bayani (hero).
Through this theme, the foundation envisions another decade of recognizing and celebrating the efforts of our makabayani to create a positive impact in their communities.
The National Awarding Ceremony serves as the pinnacle of the TAYO Awards, where the most impactful youth organizations from Luzon, NCR, Visayas, and Mindanao will be recognized for their exceptional contributions to community development and social change. From a diverse pool of twenty national finalists, ten remarkable organizations will be recognized for their dedication, innovation, and positive impact
According to Rhyn Esolana, TAYO’s Executive Director, the National Awarding Ceremony holds a special place in his heart, as it embodies the true spirit of the TAYO Awards.
“I believe that it is a moment where youth organizations — while aspiring for recognition — transcend the notion of competition and embrace one another as partners in creating impact. The National Awarding Ceremony is where the celebration of the collective is most manifested and seen,” Rhyn said.
Attendees will include TAYO 21 national finalists, sponsors, partners, TAYO alumni, and guests from government and non-government organizations.
Take a look at TAYO 21’s national finalists:
Luzon
Sidhà – San Jose City
Sidhà, meaning “may malasakit sa kapwa,” (caring for others) is a National Youth Commission registered organization with the mission of supporting our hometown through educational initiatives. Their project, Usbong Karunungan, is an eight-week tutorial program that aims to help identified struggling learners improve their reading, writing, and comprehension skills as a remedial and reinforcement to their learning and renew the children’s sense of value towards their education.
Project Barako
Project Barako is a youth-led, non-profit organization based in Batangas, registered under the NYC – Youth Organization Registration Program (NYC-YORP) which advocates for the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage through visual arts. Their project, “Barako Youth Art: Pintang Kape Para Sining at Kultura,” is a fusion of an art workshop for children and a coffee painting exhibit that uses the unique and sustainable ‘Kapeng Barako’ as a medium, depicting the history and cultural heritage of Ibaan, Batangas, and promote and preserve the cultural heritage of the town.
ADHIKA PH Inc.
ADHIKA PH is a non-government organization founded in the hope of providing inclusive platforms for involvement and leadership development among Filipinos towards bridging developmental gaps. “Rehistro Mindoro” is the flagship voter registration, education, and empowerment program of ADHIKA PH Inc. specified on disseminating balanced and objective information on citizens’ right to vote and responsibility in choosing the country’s leaders, through access to truthful and abreast election-related information.
Project Blue PH
Project Blue PH is a youth organization focused on going beyond cleanups to holistically and innovatively combat ocean pollution, through initiatives that offer tangible and sustainable solutions beneficial to the communities. Their “More Than Cleanups Campaign” is a comprehensive project in pursuit of providing a multidisciplinary problem-solution approach such as their eco-floating products namely SustainaBoat, Ahon Lifesaver, and AquaCage in various communities.
3PK BIDA YOUTH PROJECT
The 3PK-BIDA (Business Improvement and Development Assessment) YOUTH PROJECT is a competitive financial grant assistance program aimed at empowering youth with innovative business ideas. The goal of the 3PK-BIDA Youth Program is to provide the youth recipients with the information, abilities, and resources required to survive in the cutthroat business environment and hopes to help the Philippine economy continue to grow positively by empowering and motivating young people to become successful business leaders.
NCR
TheraWee Health Innovation Inc.
TheraWee is a local and globally recognized social enterprise that promotes social justice in the health industry through innovation, non-technological and technological methodologies, evidence-based human rights practices, and a patient, family, and community-centric approach for more accessible and long-lasting positive therapy outcomes for individuals, families, and communities. Their project, “TheraWee Community: Transforming One Community at a Time,” collaborates with different communities in need of professional guidance in improving their quality of life in these five areas: health, education, livelihood, social, and empowerment.
Saliwindakan Dance Company
Saliwindakan Dance Company is a child-led community-based theater and dance group from Potrero, Malabon, and SDC was one of the members of PAntanghalang mga Grupo sa Malabon-Alyansa Inc. (PAGMANA) affiliated to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts-Dramatic Arts and Potrero United Youth Organization. The Walang Dulo Ang Bahahari project is a project for Project PRIDE: Children’s Citizenship Fund 2023 to provide shared experiences, and knowledge, and tackle social issues facing minorities such as children, women, and LGBTQIA+.
Philippine Anti-Discrimination Alliance of Youth Leaders, Inc. (PANTAY)
PANTAY is a youth-led lobbying community advocating for gender-transformative legislation and policies in the Philippines which envisions a society: where every queer Filipino is free from discrimination and violence; where Filipinos have equal access to opportunities regardless of SOGIESC; and where local LGBTQIA+ movements will thrive and flourish. Their project, Project GEIS (Gender Equality Index for Schools), seeks to address the lack of a standardized approach to schools’ diversity and inclusion by developing the Rainbow Report Card that can be used to monitor and evaluate the SOGIESC-responsiveness and inclusivity of the schools’ programs, policies, and attitudes to protect the right to education of queer students.
Commonwealth Young Leaders Coalition
The Commonwealth Young Leaders Coalition is duly recognized as one of the “Most Outstanding Youth Organizations,” which aims to centralize all youth organizations that surround the whole community. Through their Project KAPEbilidad (Kamalayan, Adbokasiya, Kapansanan, Edukasyon), they have given Barista Training to Deaf Youth Kabahagi Kabataan Persons with Disabilities to help escort them to the path of living life meaningfully by creating space, forming an inclusive environment and access to opportunities for everyone.
Model Sangguniang Kabataan Network
Model Sangguniang Kabataan Network is a youth-led and youth-serving organization composed of Sangguniang Kabataan elective and appointive officials, Local Youth Development Council members, and Katipunan ng Kabataan community leaders, committed to sustaining a humane, just, compassionate, and democratic society grounded on Filipino culture and values. The IpanaLOKAL! Training Series on People’s Participation and Governance is a training program for community youth leaders who want to engage in governance, particularly in the Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, and learn about the SK Reform Law, effective communication and interpersonal skills, and progressive and ethical leadership foundations.
Visayas
Team Dugong Bughaw, Inc
Team Dugong Bughaw, Inc. (TDB) is a youth organization in Western Visayas that started as a university project advocating for HIV awareness among Filipino youth. Now, TDB works with young key populations to mainstream well-informed dialogues on sexual and reproductive health, human rights, and mental health. Project AKKAP (Alagaan ang Kalusugan ng Kabataang Pilipino) is an initiative by Team Dugong Bughaw (TDB) aimed at supporting local Adolescent Health and Development Programs (AHDPs) in the Philippines by increasing the utilization of Adolescent Reproductive Health (ARH) services in the provinces and highly urbanized cities (HUCs) of Iloilo and Negros Occidental.
Achieve Minarog Youth Organization
Achieve Minarog Youth Organization is an organization that promotes the preservation of culture, heritage, artifacts, fossils, and old documents. Their community-based museum, An Balay ni Apoy Bunang, aims to preserve and provide accurate information regarding community history and culture by preserving the museum which served as a historical learning Center and Historical Library that has different artifacts and old documents from the 18th Century.
Iloilo National High School Boy Scout of the Philippines Outfit 154
INHS-BSP is the chapter organization of Boy Scouts of the Philippines in Iloilo National High School that trains young boys to become responsible citizens and capable leaders by engaging them with skill-related activities, learning resource programs, and community involvement. Through their Project Kasanag, they intend to address the biggest problem in the remote community of Sombrero Island, which is the inaccessibility to light and electricity.
Negrosanon Young Leaders Institute Inc.
Negrosanon Young Leaders Institute Inc. is a youth-led civil society organization committed to providing Negrosanon youth with meaningful opportunities, enabling mentorship, and resources to make a difference. Negrosanon Young Leaders Summit is the flagship leadership and governance program of NYLI Inc. that seeks to convene emerging young people (SK Officials, Indigenous communities, community leaders, student council officers, and the beneficiaries of the 4Ps program of the DSWD) across the province to capacitate them in an environment that will enable them to pursue sustainable community-based solutions.
Central Philippine University Republic
CPU Republic is the student government of Central Philippine University in Iloilo City, established in 1906 a year after Jaro Industrial School (the forerunner of Central Philippine University) opened, it is the first and oldest student council (student governing body) in South East Asia. The Project Central for Emodyol: Environmental Movement for the Development Our Young Learners aims to make students more conscious of and receptive to the effects of the massive amounts of waste that the city produces — where tarpaulins and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic wastes are recycled into Eco-Envelopes and use to store their printed modules.
Mindanao
Salumayag Youth Collective for Forests
Salumayag Youth Collective for Forests is an Indigenous youth and women-led community organization that empowers upland communities in the stewardship of their ancestral lands through regenerative practices and narratives. “Reweaving Future Forests” is their long-term commitment to enable upland peoples to mend the forest fragmentations within our ancestral landscapes through farm boundary and water source regeneration, dialogues and training, harnessing the power of storytelling and ecopreneurship as a way of seeking sustainable livelihood for the community.
Oro Youth Development Office
Oro Youth Development Office is composed of young professionals and together with the CDO LGU, who seek to empower the Kagay-anon youth to become engaged citizens and provide holistic youth development opportunities for a progressive and equitable Cagayan de Oro City. The project, Seal of Child-Friendly Police Station (SCFPS) is a youth-led social audit of police stations in Cagayan de Oro City that promotes children’s rights and welfare by ensuring that law enforcement agencies, specifically police stations, are at par with their operational standards.
Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology Youth Chain of Peace
MYCoP is a Peacebuilding and Youth Empowerment Organization. MYCoP’s mission is to cultivate peace, justice, and healing by allowing young people to develop their leadership skills, embrace social responsibilities, and foster camaraderie to bridge their differences and work together to end violence in all forms. Their Project PLAY harnesses the power of games in formal and non-formal peace education, presenting a cost-effective and innovative approach to teaching peace and leadership to in-school and out-of-school youth in the conflict-affected areas of Mindanao — cultivating a new generation of peace advocates in Mindanao.
Second Chance Philippines
Second Chance Philippines is a non-profit organization that facilitates employment and livelihood for persons deprived of liberty (PDL) through a multi-dimensional approach in the community. Their project, with the same name, seeks to redeem and uplift valuable human material towards economic and social usefulness that will generate acceptance, and raise awareness of the need to give second chances to former offenders and their families.
Kagay-Anon Youth Network Alliance
The Kagay-anon Youth Network Alliance (KAYA NA) is a youth organization supported by the USAID Opportunity 2.0 Program, which aims to foster youth participation among out-of-school youths in Cagayan de Oro City by creating change and advocating for social good. The Youth Agvocates Project is an initiative led by the youth that aims to inspire and encourage them to get involved in solving food security issues by educating the youth to become advocates for food security by highlighting the importance of agriculture and its potential for future business and employment opportunities.
