Last March 16, 2017, 15 youth participants from Manila, Valenzuela, Cavite, Baguio, Iligan, Marawi, and Basilan were joined by representatives of NGOs, peacebuilding institutions, media and foreign embassies.
During the event, a video documentary was shown to share the results of the EPIC (Empowerment for Peace through Information and Communication) program in 2017. After the video documentary, three youth guests of EPIC were invited to engage in a conversation with the audience. The conversation revolved around many different themes, such as the realities of young people in rural areas, youth’s experiences of recruitment by extremist groups, and how young people benefited from a program like EPIC. The youth guests, Najmah (Iligan), Abdul (Lumbatan, Lanao del Sur), and Rawdha (Basilan) openly answered questions from the guests, who were curious, not just about the program but also the impact of initiatives to the youth.
To learn more about the results of #epicyouth2017, please watch the video on
#epicyouth2017 is a program aimed at empowering vulnerable and at-risk youth by linking them with their youth leader peers, equipping them with peacebuilding and nonviolent conflict transformation skills, and giving them tools on how to be responsible digital citizens. It is implemented in partnership with Globe Telecom, Google, and the US Embassy in Manila.