Youth Venture - Philippines

Do you want to be part of something BIG?

2008-09-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

Youth Venture calls for teams who want to be catalysts of change!

Note: Click picture to see full size.

Registration is until October 4 only.
Form youth teams of 3-8 people.
A Registration fee of PhP 250 per youth team will be collected once your team has been selected.
Limited Slots Available!
Workshops scheduled on Oct 20-21, 2008
Panel Presentation scheduled on Oct 25, 2008

The Market for Pinoy Pride

2008-08-27T23:04:00.000-07:00

By Terri Jayme*

I left the Philippines eight years ago to pursue college in the US. As is the case with many Filipinos living abroad, being away from the country compelled me to give greater thought to what it meant to be Filipino and to learn more about the culture and history that define us. Being so far away, I felt the call of home and family. I struggled to preserve that connection and sought out little ways to affirm my identity: I am Pinoy.

Aside from the occasional “Got Adobo?” shirt, I’d come home during my first few years away and find very few Filipino products for young people. I had to choose between campy souvenir shirts or the more traditional capiz or bamboo Filipiniana wares. It made me wonder whether the absence of more modern options implied a lack of interest among young Pinoys locally.

Fortunately, things seem to have changed in recent years. I moved back to Manila last year and was surprised to find a growing market of fun and young product lines celebrating pride in being Filipino and exploring different aspects of this identity. They proudly showed off names of cities and local streets. They flashed modernized images of Philippine heroes. They documented the little quirks and perks that make daily life in the Philippines unique. I found everything from clothes and bags to books and music. In terms of clothes, my personal favorites back then were the things I’d find in Team Manila and Bayo.

Suddenly, it was cool to be Filipino. We wore it on our shirts. We wrote about it in our blogs. We celebrated it in concerts. We tried to capture it in our photography. It was exciting to see Filipino artists, designers, and entrepreneurs working together to promote this love for country and make it more accessible to the general public, especially the youth.

Even more encouraging for me was when I discovered that many of these products were linked to the work of some pretty inspiring initiatives. There are groups like Team RP, RockEd Philippines, Yabang Pinoy, and YTRiP. Each have programs that reach out to young Filipinos and challenge them to engage in issues such as education, the environment, geotourism, and poverty. Many of these initiatives started out as groups of friends, usually young professionals or college students, who came together and decided that they had to do something. These efforts reject the notion of an apathetic youth and seek to find a voice and foothold in our nation’s ongoing history.

One fascinating group that I had the chance to learn more about was CANVAS. Committed to promoting a broader appreciation for Philippine art, culture, and the environment, CANVAS works with Filipino artists, writers, and artisans and sparks exciting new collaborations. For instance, their flagship activity is an annual children’s storywriting competition. But as a first step, a young promising Filipino artist is commissioned by CANVAS to create an original, large scale painting. This work then becomes the centerpiece of an open online writing competition. Writers submit children’s stories that are inspired by the painting. The same artist then further illustrates the winning literary piece on large-scale paintings. The result is the publication of an amazing, full-color Filipino children’s book and a major solo exhibition of the artist’s paintings, which have been completely sold out in the past.

With this growing market and interest in all things Filipino, we must also face the challenge of sustaining quality. I’m not just talking about better merchandise. Our projects and initiatives need to be effective, sustainable, and designed to effect long-term positive change for our society. How do we channel all this energy and general awareness into productive action?

We must go beyond the hype. It would be a shame if our patriotism becomes trendy yet uninformed and disengaged. We must continue to ask ourselves: What exactly am I proud of? What does being Filipino mean to me? What are my own concrete contributions to this society? If we make a conscious effort to think and act on these questions each day, it will feel a hundred times better when we put on that shirt, walk down the street and declare, “Pilipino Ako.”

*Terri is a young Filipina who is currently based in Singapore and works with Ashoka: Innovators for the Public in Asia (www.ashoka.org).

Originally posted for Inquirer Blogs: http://blogs.inquirer.net/openforbusiness/2008/08/26/social-entrepreneurship-pinoy-pride-youth-artists-culture/#more-244

Social entrepreneurship: Make everyone a change-maker

2008-08-25T17:28:00.001-07:00

By: Harvey S. Keh
Philippine Daily Inquirer
August 22,2008 (Friday)
http://business.inquirer.net/money/features/view/20080822-156122/Social-entrepreneurship-Make-everyone-a-change-maker

Renato Mercado had worked as an assistant architect for 15 years in Saudi Arabia. Last year, he got a one-month leave and was finally able to visit his family in Laguna province after four years.

Upon arrival, he was shocked to know his family was in disarray. His wife was not able to save a single centavo from the remittances he had been making; his eldest son was a drug addict.

For Renato, all the sacrifices and years of hard work was for nothing.

This story is a familiar refrain for many families of overseas Filipinos workers. The social consequence of this continuing migration of Filipinos has been broken families and problematic children who grow up without the proper guidance of parents.

Mai Añonuevo, together with other overseas Filipino worker (OFW) returnees, decided to form Atikha, a nonprofit organization that aims to provide economic and social services to overseas Filipinos and their families. Atikha is currently active in supporting families of OFWs in the provinces of Batangas and Laguna.

Among its most successful program is the Batang Atikha Savers Club, in which children of OFWs are taught the value of saving money while providing an outlet for these children to express their talent through arts and crafts workshops.

Teaching children of OFWs to save money is very important since it is usually these children who spend on unnecessary luxuries such as new cellular phones. The parent often gives in to these whims as a means of trying to make up for their absence.

Another initiative by Atikha is providing financial literacy and entrepreneurship training to the families of the OFWs.

Studies show that it is often the parent that is left behind who needs to be educated about where to invest the remittances that are sent by the parent who is working abroad. Through these training programs, Atikha helps minimize horror stories similar to that of Renato's family. Atikha is an example of how social entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurs can help promote a better quality of life here in the Philippines.

Social entrepreneurship is defined as developing innovative, scalable and sustainable means of solving social problems using the skills that are also used by an entrepreneur.

Mai and her friends are examples of social entrepreneurs who looked at the problems faced by families of OFWs as an opportunity for them to be able to develop a holistic program that would be able to help these families cope with the absence of one or more members. Social entrepreneurs are individuals who act as change agents for society, inventing new approaches and pattern-changing solutions to our most pressing social problems.

Another example of a successful social enterprise is Rags2Riches (R2R), which helps provide rag-makers in the Payatas area of Quezon City a better quality of life by helping them to make innovations on their products. Before R2R was established, these rag-makers, who are also mothers, would only make one to two pesos per rag and most of the profit would be made by the middlemen who sell their rags to different department stores.

When R2R was established by a group of young professionals and the Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan, they provide these rag-makers direct access to the market enabling them to earn up to 500 percent more than what they used to earn.

Aside from this, R2R was also able to convince fashion designer Rajo Laurel to help them develop different types of products using the rags. Among the products that Rajo developed were bags, purses, wine bottle holders and yoga mat holders. By developing these new products, the value of the rags is increased resulting in added income to the rag-makers.

Now, these mothers of Payatas are able to have enough money to put food on the table at least three times a day and send their children to school. These rag-makers continue to be part of R2R as they are often consulted by the management team on the future plans of this social enterprise. Since it started its operations last year, R2R has already sold more than P1 million worth of rags and helped more than 40 families live a better quality of life.

Currently, there are a few institutions that are pushing for the development of more social enterprises and social entrepreneurs here in the Philippines.

Among them are the Ateneo de Manila University School of Government (ASOG), which runs classes, seminars and training programs to interested individuals and organizations.

One of its main projects is the yearly Future Leaders of Asia Forum (FLAF) on Social Entrepreneurship which introduces social entrepreneurship to student leaders from colleges and universities all over the Philippines and Asia. The top social enterprise business plans that were conceptualized by the participants of the FLAF were given small startup funds by Coca-Cola Foundation to be used to implement their plans.

Aside from this, the ASOG also runs a youth social entrepreneurship training program in Marikina City with Greenwich Pizza and the Jollibee Foundation.

The Greenwich-YLEAD program provides training, mentorship and startup funds to youth leaders in Marikina City to enable them to create social enterprises that will help alleviate problems in their communities. Last 2006, Ashoka, the world's leading organization that supports social entrepreneurs formally opened its operations in the Philippines.

Ashoka-Philippines, which was founded and is currently led by Antonio La Vina, a former undersecretary of environment and natural resources, aims to identify budding Filipino social entrepreneurs to provide them with financial support and access to the Ashoka global network of other social entrepreneurs.

When one is chosen as an Ashoka fellow, he is given a monthly living stipend for three years so that he can work full time on his social enterprise without worrying about his or her day to day living expenses.

The first batch of Ashoka fellows from the Philippines is expected to be announced early next year.

The author is director for Youth Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship at the Ateneo de Manila University School of Government and program manager for Ashoka-Youth Venture in the Philippines. Send feedback to +632 4265657 or email harveykeh@gmail.com.

Going Green Can Be Profitable

2008-08-21T18:42:00.000-07:00

By: Lauren Wong

I came to the Philippines ten years ago, and all I can remember are the white-sand beaches of Palawan. It was the most beautiful place I had ever seen, and I imagined the rest of the Philippines to be just as gorgeous when I boarded a plane bound for Manila. My summer internship with Ashoka Philippines would last for two months; I found that natural beauty abounds, but not in the sprawling mega-metropolis where I live and work. The city, like so many others, is a hub of urban pollution. Luckily for me, there’s life outside of the city limits.

Aside from interning with Ashoka, I got to spend some of my weekends in non-urban areas. Trekking up Mount Pinatubo, planting trees near a dam in Zambales, and spending an afternoon in an isolated village in Negros Occidental reminded me of the breathtaking natural beauty of the Philippines. In those little villages tucked in the folds of mountains, people live in communion with their surroundings. Villagers fashion umbrellas out of palm leaves, make useful rags out of tattered clothes, and let no scrap of food goes to waste. The ones I’ve met still remember how to live with the earth, not simply on top of it. That kind of mentality stands as such a contrast from the lives most of us urbanites live.

We need to remember what it feels like to not pollute the earth. As climate change becomes a more present danger, we (being Filipinos, Americans, and every other citizen of the world) have got to reconnect with our environment. Some of that starts small, like bringing cloth bags when shopping or, if not, use all of those plastic bags for garbage cans. We could put pride in Filipino-grown food rather than preferring goodies from Switzerland. We could make a conscious effort not to litter and demand a comprehensive recycling program. The biggest environmental concerns here in the Philippines happen to be large structural issues like diesel-belching buses and inefficient energy grids, but that shouldn’t dissuade the average citizen from trying to do their part. People and communities around the world are finding ways to “do their part”, and the Philippines should see if others’ innovative models can be applied here.

Between 1990 and 2006, Sweden reduced its carbon emissions by 9 percent while still growing at 44 percent. The nation has installed a carbon tax on gasoline to give its citizens a financial incentive to reduce energy consumption, and a southern city in Sweden is running its electric station with wood waste from sawmills. San Francisco separates garbage into recyclables, food scraps, and trash; while it takes away recyclables and food scraps for free, residents must pay to have their trash picked up. That way, people will be more willing to throw away only what is absolutely necessary. UK-based G24 Innovations is bringing electricity to Rwanda using lightweight, durable, and low-cost solar cells. In Chicago, the City Hall’s 20,000 sq. foot rooftop is covered with vegetation to save $25,000 in energy costs. Copenhagen streets bustle with more bikes than cars and have even installed traffic lights especially for its bikers; it also has about 2000 bikes around the city that you can rent for free, within its city limits.

The Philippines is starting to show off some if its own environmental innovation. In Makati, a few electric-run e-Jeepneys roam the roads. Eco-tourism is beginning to take off in the Philippines with 32 key sites, but it should be encouraged to go much farther. With all the dazzling natural landscapes that span the Philippines, the archipelago could easily become one of the world’s new tourist hot spots, showing that going green can also be very profitable.

There are other avenues to seek environmental solutions, such as solar energy, hybrid cars, carbon cap-and-trade, and more efficient vehicle standards. With the looming oil shortage in the not-so-distant future, innovators in the renewable energy field will be in extremely high demand. The trend to “go green” in wealthy nations has also created a market for organic, sustainable, and carbon-free goods, even at high prices.

The Philippines has the potential to once again become an economic heavy-hitter while also saving the earth, but only if it makes the environment a priority for everyone. Filipino citizens, whether they live in tiny farming communities or the ritziest neighborhoods in Makati, must connect with the land rather than take it for granted. One day, you won’t have to fly to Bacolod to see dazzling nature in its finest; you’ll just need to step outside of your urban apartment.

*Lauren is an intern at Ashoka.

Note: This was written for Inquirer Blogs http://blogs.inquirer.net/openforbusiness/2008/08/05/social-entrepreneurship-environment/

How To Change The World: An Afternoon with Aspiring and Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs

2008-08-21T18:39:00.000-07:00

This event is open to everyone.
You can click on the image to see full size.

We invite you to Beyond Bottomlines 2: An Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship

2008-07-22T17:14:00.001-07:00

Note: Click on the image to zoom in

Due to the success of the first-run of Beyond Bottomlines: An Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship, the Ateneo de Manila University-School of Government and Ashoka-Philippines Youth Venture would like to invite you to the 2nd run of Beyond Bottomlines: An Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship. This whole day seminar-workshop will aim to introduce the concept of social entrepreneurship, present best practices by existing local and international social entrepreneurs and give an opportunity to the participants to develop their own social enterprise business plans. This will be held on September 20,2008 (Saturday), 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Ateneo Professional Schools, Rockwell Center, Makati City, Metro Manila. The registration fee will be P 2,600.00 per person and only 35 participants can be accomodated into this seminar-workshop. Should you wish to register or inquire, please feel free to contact Katrina Wy at (02) 497-7614 or you can send an email to youthventureph@gmail.com . Deadline for registration will be until September 12,2008 only or until the 35 slots have been filled up already.

Ashoka and Ateneo School of Government run Beyond Bottomlines Seminar

2008-07-21T01:43:00.000-07:00

By Harvey S. Keh

Ashoka-Philippines and The Ateneo de Manila University-School of Government (ASoG) conducted "Beyond bottomlines: An introduction to social entrepreneurship" on July 12,2008. Thirty-eight participants from different schools, companies, foundations, socio-civic organizations and non-profit organizations attended the whole-day seminar at the Ateneo Professional Schools campus at Rockwell Center, Makati City.

It began with Harvey Keh, Director for Youth Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship at the ASOG formally welcoming the participants and running through the day's activities with them. Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan's Jess Pasibe followed by giving a comprehensive look at our current national situation and at the same time identifying what are the most pressing problems in our country today. After the national situationer, Atty. Arnel Casanova, lead faculty in the ASOG's Social Entrepreneurship class for Professionals, gave an introduction to social entrepreneurship lecture while also discussing with the participants how to make an effective Social Enterprise Business Plan.

To cap the morning's activities, Reese Fernandez of Rags2Riches and Marielle Nadal of Ideals Creatives gave talks on their respective social enterprises. During this time, Reese and Marielle described to the participants how they were able to develop successful and viable social enterprises given the limited resources that they had.

In the afternoon, participants were then given the opportunity to develop social enterprise business plans that would help alleviate problems in education, health and the environment. After their planning session, they were then asked to present to a panel composed of Dr. Antonio La Viña, Dean of the ASOG, Ms. Henedina Abad, Social Entrepreneur and Faculty member of the ASOG and Terri Jayme Program Officer of Ashoka-Philippines. The panel gave the participants comments and suggestions on how they can further improve their social enterprise plans. At the end of the seminar, Dr. La Viña congratulated the participants and challenged them to consider becoming social entrepreneurs who will ultimately become change makers in our society.

Due to the success of Beyond Bottomlines, the ASOG and Ashoka-Philippines will run Beyond Bottomlines 2: An Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship Seminar this coming September 20,2008 (Saturday) at the Ateneo Professional Schools Campus, Rockwell Center, Makati City. For inquiries, please contact Katrina Wy at (02) 497-7614 or you can send an email to youthventureph@gmail.com.

Youth, Entrepreneurship and Leadership

2008-07-15T01:57:00.000-07:00

By Katrina C. Wy

I started running my own business at the age of 19. It was an online shop at a website called Multiply. All of my friends visit this site everyday and getting an account is free so I decided to try posting stuff for sale and see how my friends (my potential clients) would react.

I chose to sell trendy but really affordable clothes. It was a low-risk business as the only capital I needed was for my inventory. I figured that if I fail to sell anything, I can still keep the clothes for myself and it wouldn’t be such a waste of money. I was shocked, however, by the response I got from my friends. They really liked the clothes I was selling and was extremely happy at the price I was selling it to them.

To read the rest of the article, click to go to Inquirer Blogs

Beyond Bottomlines: An Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship

2008-07-01T20:22:00.000-07:00

The Ateneo de Manila University-School of Government in cooperation with Ashoka Youth Venture-Philippines would like to invite you to Beyond Bottomlines: An Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship. This whole day seminar will provide participants with the following:

a.) Understanding of the concept of Social Entrepreneurship and how it can help change the Philippines

b.) Case studies of successful Filipino Social Entrepreneurs and their Social Enterprises

c.) An opportunity to develop a start-up Social Enterprise Business Plan

This seminar will be held on July 12,2008 (Saturday), 8am to 5pm at the Ateneo Professional Schools, Rockwell Center, Makati City. Registration Fee will be P 2,200.00 per person (inclusive of snacks, lunch, materials, certificate and a complimentary book on social entrepreneurship). An early bird discount of 10% will be given to participants who register and complete payment on or before June 30,2008. Group Discounts will be given to groups of 3 or more registrants. For more information or if you would wish to register, please contact Katrina Wy at (02) 683-0262 local 141 or you can send us an email to youthventureph@gmail.com . We will only accept a maximum of 35 participants for this seminar, registration will be on a first come, first serve basis.

Youth Venture is holding a Rummage Sale!!

2008-06-10T23:56:00.000-07:00

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Bright Kids Learning Center

2008-06-10T18:28:00.000-07:00

Initially a summer pre-school for kids from poor communities in Batasan, the Bright Kids Learning Center transformed into a Summer Art Workshop which caters to 35-40 five to seven year old kids from Batasan Hills Elementary School. The intial funding was provided by the Coca Cola Foundation from the Make It Happen! First Social Enterprise Business Plan Writing Competition launched during the First Future Leaders of Asia Forum held last January 17-19, 2008. In order to give back to Batasan Hills Elementary for letting us use their facilites for free for the whole month of May, a fundraiser was executed -- soliciting P200 donations to provide for an Art Kit to be used and eventually turned over to a student. The kit consisted of art supplies which can also be used during the coming school year. The fundraiser was able to raise a significant amount of money, money that was spent buying paint and other painting materials needed during the school's Brigada Eskwela. Future plans involve the creation of planners which showcase some of the artworks created by the kids during the summer art workshop. Profits from the sale of these planners would help fund the next batch of Bright Kids Summer Art Workshop students.

To know more about the enterprise, you can log on to http://bklc.multiply.com or send an email to brightkidslearningcenter@yahoo.com.

Youth Venture Philippines

2008-06-09T21:04:00.001-07:00

Youth Venture enables young people to learn early on in life that they can lead social change. Ashoka developed the concept of Youth Venture from understanding a key insight of Ashoka Fellows in the field of youth development: one of the most effective ways to improve the lives of youth is to empower them to realize their own ability to make positive social change.

Youth Venture thus inspires and invests in teams of young people to start and lead their own social ventures, and is building a powerful network of young changemakers across the world. It is currently operating in the US, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, India, South Africa, Thailand, France, Germany, and Spain.

Ashoka is launching Youth Venture in the Philippines this August spearheaded by Harvey Keh, Program Director and Katrina Wy, Program Officer. We are currently in the process of finding partner companies, foundations, schools, community-based organizations, media and government offices to cooperate and work with us to help us realize our mission of honing the leadership and entrepreneurial skills of young Filipinos.

YV Philippines plans to run Dream It, Do It Workshops in schools and communities around Metro Manila first and eventually expand operations beyond the Metro within the succeeding years.

Ashoka: Innovators for the Public

2008-05-30T01:01:00.000-07:00

Ashoka is the leading global organization of social entrepreneurs in the world with the vision of making everyone a changemaker. Social entrepreneurs are individuals with innovative minds who devise creative solutions to tackle the most pressing problems of society and at the same time have the initiative to implement them to bring about a wide-scale change. They possess the vision, creativity, determination, and pragmatism of a business entrepreneur which they use to revolutionize the society. Ashoka provides resources to social entrepreneurs in the form of financial support, professional assistance and connections to a global community of like-minded individuals. Ashoka has helped more than 2000 entrepreneurs in 60 countries around the globe since it was started in 1981 by Bill Drayton. The Philippine office was established in July 2006 and is currently on its process of selecting the first batch of Filipino Ashoka fellows.

Youth Venture is looking for volunteers!!

2008-05-28T02:45:00.000-07:00

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Click to Download Application Form

A New Profession of Social Entrepreneurs

2008-05-25T23:41:00.000-07:00

A New Profession of Social Entrepreneurs

“A social entrepreneur finds what is not working and solves the problem by changing the system, spreading the solution and persuading entire societies to take new leaps. He or she is not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the entire fishing industry.”

Bill Drayton, founder of Ashoka

A new profession has started to arise – that of a social entrepreneur. Universities around the country are now starting to offer courses on social entrepreneurship and how business and management skills can be applied to produce social ends. However, more importantly, social entrepreneurs should be seen as catalysts of change who create systemic solutions for complex and social problems. They are determined individuals with a strong pursuit for their visions. Like business entrepreneurs, they possess skills such as leadership, entrepreneurship, pragmatism, discipline, creativity and persistence. They value sustainability and innovation highly and like business entrepreneurs, they demand measurable results. But unlike business entrepreneurs who target creation of new markets for economic advancement, social entrepreneurs find what is not working and look for innovative solutions to address the most pressing social problems to benefit marginalized and disadvantaged communities.

The face of philanthropy started out with giving marginalized communities their needs such as food and shelter. This however has small-scale and short-term benefits. Social entrepreneurs look beyond this and find ways of being agents of sustainable, sweeping long-term change. They continuously find ways to improve every area of human need. They open new pathways for the marginalized and disadvantage to disengage society’s full potential of bringing social change and transforming society as a whole.