Students from Mindanao meet with PH envoys in Washington, DC
PYLP delegates pose with Deputy Chief of Mission Jaime Ramon T. Ascalon, Jr. and Consul General Iric C. Arribas.CONTRIBUTED
WASHINGTON D.C. – A 24-member student delegation from Mindanao, Philippines paid a courtesy call on the Philippine Embassy on June 7 as part of their educational field trip in the U.S. capital.
The delegation is in the United States under the Philippine Youth Leadership Program (PYLP) of the Northern Illinois University (NIU) and is led by their NIU Program Director Rhodalyne Gallo-Crail. They will soon be heading home to the Philippines as aspiring future leaders of the country.
Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) Jaime Ramon T. Ascalon, Jr. and Consul General Iric C. Arribas welcomed the youth leaders and had a discussion on overall PH-US relations, the Embassy’s role and initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how to start a career in the Philippine foreign service.
The students said that the global community should learn and understand developments in the Bangsamoro government and Muslim Mindanao. The delegation performed a lively cultural show for Embassy personnel.
PYLP is a leadership development exchange program that offers Philippine secondary students ages 15-17 years old and adult mentors from Mindanao for a four-week training in the United States. It is a youth exchange program that aims to empower young people and establish long-lasting ties between the Philippines and the U.S. Since its inception in 2004, PYLP has produced more than 420 Filipino youth alumni.
PYLP focuses on responsible citizenship, civic leadership, community development, and project management. This initiative is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State in partnership with the Northern Illinois University in the U.S. and University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (USTP) in Mindanao.
Ascalon encouraged the students to pursue a career in foreign service: “It is a challenging profession, since you will be handling political, economic, and several specialized issues on international law, climate change, etc, but at the same time rewarding because you will be serving the Filipino people.”
More information on the PYLP can be found via its website at https://pylp.org/
