Fil-Am youth nat’l leadership summit to be held in Jersey City

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey — The first annual “Sulong! Filipino Youth Leadership Summit” will be held on July 29 at City Hall at 280 Grove Street from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Kapit Bisig Kabataan Network Anakbayan-USA and the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns will host the gathering “in the spirit of the 119th anniversary of Philippine Independence Day and the 156th birthday of Philippine national hero Jose Rizal,” the groups’ press release said.

This summit will give Filipino youth and students an opportunity to learn about current issues affecting their communities as well as skills to be effective leaders and makers of change.

“The East Coast has a robust and thriving concentration of Filipino youth from college campuses to dance groups to church organizations. Youth have always been at the forefront of creating social change, and that is needed now more than ever,” said Joelle Eliza Lingat, National Secretary General of Anakbayan-USA.

“Sulong! or Advance! is the most fitting name for this leadership summit because we want to equip participants with the tools to advance the rights and welfare of our community,” Lingat added.

The summer Filipino youth leadership summit is aimed at up-and-coming Filipino youth and student leaders from high school and college. There will be various speakers, activities and workshops on leadership and Filipino history, and a plenary session to unite participants on plans of action.

Keynote messages will be delivered by Jersey City Council President Rolando Lavarro and the founder of Filipino School of New York and New Jersey, Venessa Manzano.

The conference is endorsed by the Filipino School of New York & New Jersey and Pace University’s Filipino Youth International.

The summit is a concerted effort by the convening national organizations to bring Filipino youth groups together in light of the success of the first Kabataan Magkaisa conference held in Seattle in January 2016.

This regional collaboration aims to lay the groundwork for Kabataan Alliance, a national Filipino youth and student coalition, “to serve as a platform for youth across the United States to collectively advance the rights and welfare of our community, locally and in the Philippines.”

The second Kabataan Magkaisa conference will be held on September 30 to October 1 2017 in San Francisco.

For more information on the summit, visit the Facebook event page here and register here.