August 23, 2024

Education, Economic Empowerment, Social Inclusion and Equity, Peace-Building and Security, Governance, Active Citizenship, Environment, Global Mobility

Youth for Active Citizenship And Leadership also known as YACAL Pilipinas is a youth-led movement aiming to engage the youth in relevant and meaningful educational discussions in pursuit of action towards socio-cultural, economic, and political issues that surround our country and the world, such as human rights, social equality, sustainable development, and global politics. The organization’s name is derived from the yakal tree, an endemic tree in the Philippines considered of high quality. Yet, due to logging and capitalist greed it is now declared as critically endangered. Like the Yacal tree, youth who possess so much potential, are also threatened to extinction due to the vast and sometimes state induced misinformation coupled with lack of access to quality education. As a response, Alec Buenaventura, together with James Buama, educators at the time, decided to create a platform to engage the youth through training, webinars, and educational discussions in social issues as well, with the same goal of encouraging them to action.