THE Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation of Cebu City visited Tagbilaran City to conduct a benchmarking activity in the SK Federation of Tagbilaran City. Hon. Jessica Resch from SK Federation of Cebu led the 50-member delegation.
City Administrator Cathelyn Torremocha welcomed the delegates, while City Youth Development Officer Marbert Remolador and Tagbilaran SK Federated President Jose Floro Ringca presented its projects and programs. City Local Government Operations Officer Regina Bastes gave the closing remarks.
The SK Federation of Tagbilaran City which was then led by Hon. Raul Aparicio turned the organization into a whole new level. More than 100 youths were trained in Social Media Literacy, Basic Life Support, Mental Health Awareness, Love and Courtship, Climate Change, and Effective Journalism.
600 Out-of-school Youths (OSY) in Tagbilaran City received technical trainings and aid from the USAID Opportunity 2.0 Project. 150 Elected youth leaders and volunteers in Tagbilaran City were trained in Leadership, Local Budgeting, Planning, and Youth Governance.
Elected Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials and representatives from youth-based organizations actively participated in the Formulation of the 3-Year City Youth Development Plan. But, the centerpiece of the Tagbilaran City SK Federation is the institutionalization of the City Youth Development Office (CYDO).
Aparicio who chaired the Committee on Youth and Sports Development in the 14th Sangguniang Panlungsod is the only SK chairman in the entire province of Bohol to sponsor the ordinance entitled the Comprehensive Youth Development Code which institutionalized the establishment of the City Youth Development Office (CYDO) and the City Youth Development Council in the City of Tagbilaran. A game-changer indeed. For the first time, intentional planning and management are directed towards the wholistic development of the youth, ensuring a wide and multi-sectoral youth participation in local governance.
With the passage of the ordinance, Tagbilaran City was able to harness and develop the full potential of the youth as partners in development. The ordinance provided the much-needed direction and focus in the management and delivery of programs and projects to the youth. And through the ordinance, budget allocation was also permanently channeled to the CYDO.
As co-chairman of the Youth Development Alliance in Bohol (YDA), Aparicio was able to conduct a Youth Profiling among the city’s 15 barangays. Aparicio believed that a detailed survey among the youth would be crucial in the relevant delivery of programs, projects, and activities.
This data armed the CYDO with relevant information which enabled the unit in the conduct of the following activities. CYDO was able to launch various capacity building activities to capacitate and empower the youth even amidst the pandemic:
Since the CYDO has been institutionalized, empowered partnerships came about, one of the most prominent is the engagement of the CYDO with USAID Opportunity 2.0. It is a project that supports the education, employment, and livelihood needs of out-of-school youth in Tagbilaran City. The five-year Opportunity 2.0: Second-Chance Opportunities for Out-of-School Youth program works with the Department of Education (DepEd), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to support its programs in providing relevant education, employability skills, and work experience to out-of-school youth in Tagbilaran City.
On June 14, 2021, twenty-five (25) out-of-school youth (OSY) from Barangays Cogon, Poblacion 2, Poblacion 3, and Tiptip in Tagbilaran City were inducted into the “Youth Access to TESDA Online Programs (TOPs).” Youth Access to TOPs is a TESDA-USAID Opportunity 2.0 collaboration that specifically enjoins OSY to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority’s distance learning platform.
TESDA and USAID is working together in response to the COVID-19 crisis, ensuring to restore the vulnerable youth’s access to much needed training so that OSY can overcome economic difficulties amid the pandemic. The learners will undergo a three-month training using the Work Readiness Modules developed through USAID Opportunity 2.0 and US-based Education Development Center. Topics and lessons include Workplace Communication, Working in a Team Environment, Solving Workplace Problems, and Occupational Safety and Health Policies, among other valuable soft skills.
For the online program, 16 completers were produced and the Be Your Own Boss Program has 3 ALS completers. After the three-month training, the OSY will be introduced to employment, and self-employment opportunities with assistance from the YDA and USAID Opportunity 2.0.
This year, various projects will be rolled out to the youth in Tagbilaran under the USAID Opportunity 2.0. (Jeanette Busano)
