On the 11th of September, DAKILA – Philippine Collective for Modern Heroism hosted a fundraiser for the second run of its Heroes Hub Youth Fellowship Program by partnering with the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) in presenting their hit show ‘Rak of Aegis’ – one of the longest-running original Pinoy musicals in contemporary theater.
Rak of Aegis tells the story of fictional Barangay Venizia, which has been submerged in floodwater for two months. With songs from the ’90s Pinoy Rock band, Aegis, the musical is inspired by events that happened during Typhoon Ondoy in 2009. The convergence of these efforts of Philippine Educational Theater Association, DAKILA, in partnership with When In Manila, PhilPop, and PLDT Home Fibr, evokes the power of the creative form in reminding Filipinos that true heroism is sparked when we recognize both the problems of society and our innate strength to challenge them.
“Rak of Aegis reflects the story of every Filipino — it points out the challenges we face today in the Philippine society and how we can surpass these struggles. On the other side, this show dares us to look beyond resiliency and ask, ‘Why are there such trials?’” remarked Heroes Hub fellow Wynona Galvez, on the choice of the show for their fundraiser. Galvez continues, “Just like what we were taught in Heroes Hub, it is important to always ask the difficult question. We should be alarmed on the issues we are experiencing today and we must all come together in seeking solutions to these problems,” as reflected by Heroes Hub fellow Wynona Galvez.
The Heroes Hub Youth Fellowship Program is a youth leadership and advocacy formation program that aims to empower the Filipino youth to be agents of social change. An initiative of the artist-activist collective DAKILA through its established learning institution Active Vista Center, Heroes Hub offers a transformative learning process to form Filipino youth’s critical thinking, progressive ideas, and creative innovations which are fuel to their development as citizens and leaders.
Leyden Sta. Isabel, reflected on the lessons she learned as a graduate of the 2018 Heroes Hub Youth Fellowship Program: “Being a bayani (hero) for your Bayan (nation) is not something you do for the sake of doing it. It creates a ripple effect: empowerment leads to development that leads to transformation, which is asymptotic to adaptation, innovation, and orchestration.”
The application for the second run of the Heroes Hub Youth Fellowship Program ends on the 20th of September 2019 and shall be held from October to November 2019. Interested applicants may register through bit.ly/HHApplication2019. A National Heroes Hub Youth Engagement Summit is also slated for November 2019.
“The youth have always been at the forefront of the kinds of social change that drive our country towards equality, justice, and progress,” said DAKILA Executive Director, Micheline Rama, “We at DAKILA hope to sharpen the skills the Filipino youth already have, and feed their passion for nation-building.”
DAKILA cultivates one’s innate heroism, organizes communities of heroes and creatively fosters social involvement by building one’s capacity to make a change, influencing individuals and groups to be part of the movement for change, and taking on advocacies and social concerns to bring about strategic actions that make real change.
