In the year 2016, the United Nations Development Programme established the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which serve as society’s target in a global scale for the future’s benefit. With that, it generated collaboration and partnerships among individuals and organizations worldwide. In the Philippines, a number of organizations and programs have implemented conferences, seminars, and symposia for the youth for awareness and engagement in achieving the SDGs
With this in mind, the University of Asia and the Pacific will hold its annual Civitas Asia Student Conference or civAsia for the year 2019 with the goal to empower the youth to create positive impact on society through the SDGs for the second time around with the theme ALPAS: Journeying towards Mother Nature’s Healing. Last year, the national conference focused on the PEOPLE category of the SDGs. For this year, civAsia 2019 will be focusing on the five PLANET category, namely the SDGs 6 (Clean and Water Sanitation), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), 13 (Climate Action), 14 (Life Below Water), and 15 (Life on Land). In concurrence with ALPAS which means to fly and be free, civAsia 2019 envisions the youth to take part in breaking free from the environmental problems that plague the country.
civAsia 2019 will happen on February 28 – March 2, 2019, in partnership with WWF PH and the Asia Pacific Youth Exchange, and with WhenInManila.com, 99.5 Play FM, Manila Bulletin, MBLife, and Agriculture as official media partners. The first day of the national conference will equip the delegates with a brief background of what the SDGs are specifically those under the Planet category. The second day will be dedicated to talks which will enlighten the youth about the current state of our environment, the effects that our actions make, and our responsibility as stewards of Earth. The delegates will be divided into clusters, making sure that there are at least 3-4 groups per SDG. As an output, each group has to come up with an action plan related to their assigned SDG and will then have to defend their action plan with the other groups with the same SDG on the third day of the conference. The winning action plan for each SDG will then be turned over to the partner NGO/LGU/DENR. The three-day conference aims to impart on the participants (1) a deeper understanding of the problems that affect the Philippine environment; (2) the knowledge to help remedy these dilemmas; and (3) the realization of the urgency in solving these environmental problems.
In line with this, we are inviting college students from all over the Philippines to take part in this national conference and together, let’s create a difference.
