BY: JENNIFER C. TILOS
DUMAGUETE CITY, Sept 18 (PIA) --The Young SouthEast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) of the US Embassy has declared the ‘Movement of the Youth for Inclusive Development through Education in ASEAN’ (MY IDEA) as one of the 17 winning proposals in the ASEAN region.
US Embassy’s YSEALI intends to nurture a regional network and strengthen leadership skills among ASEAN youth who are smart leaders aged 18-35 years from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Burma, Philippines, Laos, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The MY IDEA has been conceptualized by a team of three young leaders from Negros Oriental, Philippines, and one young leader from Hanoi, Vietnam.
Young Negrenses include Kate Dawn Young Ricardo, Eduard Joseph Narciso, Rolando Jr Villamero, and Quy Nguyen.
‘I personally have dreamt of doing something for children with disabilities in the province. With this opportunity that the US embassy has given us, I believe we can make a difference in the lives of Negrense children with disabilities who are marginalized in terms of access to quality and inclusive education’, said Young Ricardo.
The MY IDEA Project, which starts running in mid-2015, aims to increase the capacities of senior student teachers in the different Teacher Education Institutions (TEI) in Negros Oriental on inclusive education strategies so that they will be able to effectively accommodate children with disabilities in general education classes.
Furthermore, this aims to mobilize young student teachers to advocate for inclusive education in their respective communities.
"We believe that this project is very relevant considering that one of the factors why inclusive education does not work especially in public schools is due because teachers are not that well-equipped in accommodating children with disabilities. It is therefore critical that we start educating the student teachers so that when they go to the field of teaching, they already have the needed skills in working with the diverse needs of children," expressed Narciso.
Launched in 2013 by US President Barack Obama, the Young SouthEast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) consist of young leaders who have innovative ideas for tackling what they have identified as their generation’s greatest challenges in the ASEAN region – economic development, environmental protection, education, and civic engagement. (mbcn/JCT/PIA7-Negros Oriental)