Amid Independence Day celebrations nationwide, youth leaders from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and other regions convened in a virtual forum to emphasize the role of young Filipinos in building a peaceful and inclusive society.
On June 11, hundreds of participants came together to hear from speakers and experts from various sectors during “KAHIDLAW: Kaalaman at Karanasan tungo sa Pagtataguyod ng Kultura ng Kapayapaan” held over Zoom and Facebook Live and co-organized by Extremely Together (ET) Philippines – Panaghiusa and the Institute for Peace and Development in Mindanao (IPDM) of the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT).
Addressing the youth participants in the virtual forum, Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan shared in his welcome message, “With you, I dream of a BARMM united in peace and love and the bayanihan spirit for progress and development where everyone, especially the children, feel safe and secure in where they live.”
To achieve this, he urged young leaders to be “frontliners” in advancing the “vision of a peaceful, progressive society” by leveraging their energy, passion, creativity, and idealism.
In opening the sessions for the day, academic and policy adviser Richard Heydarian delivered the keynote address and highlighted that, “We have taken those decisive first steps [in setting up BARMM] but we need to sustain these efforts.”
“That is why it is important for us to constantly remind the Filipino people that our nation-building project is unfinished, and a big chunk of that ‘unfinished-ness’ of our nation-building project is ensuring that our Muslim brothers and sisters have a viable, autonomous region in a framework of the Filipino nation-state,” he added.
With the event aiming to underline the experiences and challenges of the BARMM transition in promoting an environment of understanding, acceptance, and tolerance, a diverse representation of leaders from BARMM were also invited to share their thoughts.
KAHIDLAW featured a panel including Atty. Al-Rashid Lucman Balt, the Bangsamoro Director-General of the Ministry of Public Order and Safety under BARMM; Commissioner Nasserudin Dunding from the Bangsamoro Youth Commission (BYC); Aliah B. Adam, the Founder of Singanen o Mindanao and Philippine Coordinator of the SCCB Project; and Dr. Anisah P. Hadji Ali, Program Consultant of the BYC.
For her part, Dr. Ali emphasized the banner of “No Child in Bangsamoro Shall Be Left Behind” by calling on the government and stakeholders to support education and capacity-building for peace and to facilitate dignified livelihoods for young people.
At the same time, she also urged for support for young people’s vision of peace, the creation of spaces for political participation led by youth, and the facilitation of intercommunity dialog and exchanges.
To close KAHIDLAW, Assistant Professor Yasmira Moner, the Director of IPDM, echoed the thoughts of the speakers and urged youth attendees to continue their collaborative efforts towards peace in BARMM and beyond.
The Institute for Peace and Development in Mindanao (IPDM) of MSU – Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) is one of the seven units of the system-wide IPDM of the Mindanao State University System. It was created as the MSU system’s proactive response to the national government’s efforts to institutionalize and integrate the teaching and learning of peace in basic and higher education.
Meanwhile, the Extremely Together Philippines – Panaghiusa network convenes young Filipinos aged 15-30 years old working together to prevent violent extremism nationwide. The network is organized by the non-profit organization Kristiyano-Islam Peace Library, the Geneva-based Kofi Annan Foundation, and funded by the European Union.