08 December 2015 - The Philippines’ young movers and shakers participated in the Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit held from December 02 to 04 in Hong Kong.

Led by Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President and CEO, Mr. Arnel Paciano Casanova, the Philippine delegation was composed of the following:

• Mr. Ibrahim “Ibba” Bernardo, founder and CEO of Sari Software Solutions, an IT company serving marginalized and underprivileged groups in the Philippines;
• Ms. Kathryn Cardenas, a fine artist and Asia-based Program Officer for the Global Initiatives Group at the Asia Society;
• Mr. Brian Vergel Gonzales, team leader and liaison to ASEAN for USAID-funded Asia’s Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking (ARREST) Program;
• Dr. Ryan Camado Guinaran, a medical doctor, author and founding Executive Director of Doctors for Indigenous Health and Cultural Competent Training, Education, Networking and Governance (DITENG);
• Mr. Ivan Henares, President of the Heritage Conservation Society of the Philippines and Vice President of the ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Committee (ICTC);
• Major Jo-ar Acosta Herrera, Chief of the Plans and Research Branch and Assistant Chief of Staff for Education and Training in the Philippine Army;
• Ms. Natalie Christine Virata Jorge, Executive Director of Bato Balani Foundation, Inc., a non-profit foundation dedicated to improving the quality of education in the Philippines;
• Mr. John Piermont Montilla, a trafficking survivor and anti-trafficking advocate who leads efforts on community engagement among trafficking victim and survivor communities;
• Mr. Henry Motte-Muñoz, co-founder of Bantay.ph, an anti-corruption NGO, and founder of Edukasyon.ph, a comprehensive online database of higher education course and scholarships launched in the Philippines in 2015; and
• Mr. Quintin Pastrana, Founder and Managing Director of the Library Renewal Partnership, a coalition building community education centers around the Philippines and within the Asian region.

The Summit featured a talk by Mr. Casanova on “Building Resilient Cities,” in which he discussed the importance of urban planning in the wake of climate change and the Philippines’ challenges in dealing with and overcoming natural disasters. 

Founded in 2005, the Asia 21 Young Leaders Initiative was organized by the Asia Society to build a network of young leaders under the age of 40 across the Asia-Pacific to promote “mutual understanding and effective collaboration among the next generation’s most important and influential leaders.”  There are currently 66 Filipinos among the 800 Asia 21 Young Leaders alumni who come from more than 30 countries in the region. END