Participants of Midwest Youth Leaders in Diaspora Immersion Program Visit the DFA

YouLEAD participants during the courtesy call on Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Strategic Communications and Research Ernesto C. Abella (center foreground) at the Carlos P. Garcia Conference Room of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). Undersecretary Abella was joined by Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Maria Lumen B. Isleta (foreground, second from right), and officers from the DFA Office of American Affairs. (DFA photo)

MANILA 17 January 2019 – Fourteen Young American, Australian and Dutch students of Filipino descent visited the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) as part of the Midwest Youth Leaders in Diaspora (YouLEAD) Immersion Program on 04 January 2019.

Aged 16 to 24 years old, the participants are students of various courses such as law, nursing, biology, international business and general education.

During the visit to the Department, the participants paid a courtesy call on Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Strategic Communications and Research Ernesto C. Abella.

Undersecretary Abella imparted to the YouLEAD participants that the Philippines is a country with a rich cultural heritage. He expressed hope that the immersion program will awaken in them the pride of being part of the Filipino global community.

“We are a nation of people who are resilient, adaptive and forward-looking, who works towards building a new global community in which Philippines plays a part of,” Undersecretary Abella said.

Following the courtesy call, the YouLEAD participants proceeded to the Carlos P. Romulo Library, where DFA-Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Principal Assistant Sandra Guiang briefed them on the Department’s work to assist Filipinos abroad. The briefing was organized by the Foreign Service Institute.

The Midwest YouLEAD Immersion program is a pilot project of the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago, in partnership with the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), which aims to promote deeper understanding and appreciation of Philippine culture and heritage among the second-and third-generation of Filipinos in the U.S. Midwest. It envisions the participants to be more involved in promoting the interests of the Philippines in the U.S.

The seven-day immersion program, which ran from 03 January to 09 January 2019, consisted of lectures on Philippine history and language, governance and migration, interaction with government officials and a local community, and guided tours to scenic and historical landmarks in Manila, Cavite and Tagaytay. END

A YouLEAD participant poses a question during the briefing conducted by the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs which was organized by the Foreign Service Institute. (DFA photo)