Atenean brings her IP advocacy to the Future Bridging Leaders Program

Angela Maree Encomienda (4 AB Sociology) was one of eighteen young leaders to graduate from the Future Bridging Leaders Program (FBLP) of the Asian Institute of Management held in March 2022.

The FBLP is a year-long leadership development program and social innovation laboratory based on the Bridging Leadership (BL) management approach to address social inequalities. The BL framework is anchored on these 4 segments: Ownership, Co-Ownership, Co-Creation, and Co-Creation. The Fellowship engages the youth sector to develop a new cadre of youth leaders who have the courage, commitment, skills, and knowledge to create sustainable change within their communities. FBLP recognizes the crucial role of youth in addressing societal issues.

Encomienda, one of the youngest fellows in the cohort, was chosen for her advocacy for indigenous peoples. She is the founder and chairperson of The Initiative PH, a non-profit organization that synergizes young people's development initiatives for communities experiencing poverty, exclusion, vulnerability, and insecurity.

The young Atenean credits her professors' work with indigenous peoples and her courses as an inspiration for her development projects and research pursuits. 

"My Ateneo education, nurtured by my home department, the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, has been instrumental to my leadership journey. In fact, my fellowship project is tied to my undergraduate thesis on the strategic identity and governance of indigenous youth," she shares. 

The program for Encomienda's cohort ran from June 2021 to March 2022. The cohort produced multiple outputs throughout the program, including a rapid area assessment, a theory of change, a logical framework, a progress report, and a final pitch. The third term, held in Boracay from 19-26 March, culminated in a public recital.

Together with her partner John Joseph Ilagan, Encomienda presented their project 'UWAY (Umuunlad at Nagwawaging Kabuhayan ng mga Katutubong Agta, Dumagat, at Remontado).' It aims to organize an indigenous youth-led cooperative that champions the traditional livelihood of pag-uuway or rattan harvesting and handcrafting, which has grown idle throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

UWAY puts indigenous youth at the forefront, acknowledging that their generation is at risk of becoming the last to witness the dying tradition of handcrafting within their community. The project also recognizes that indigenous youth have a growing desire to lead their community and a newfound capacity for organizing — a significant change in a culture primarily led by elders. Ilagan likens indigenous youth to trees: “Punong may malakas na paghugot at pag-angkla sa ugat nila at mayroong yumayabong na bunga at hinaharap (A tree with strong roots will thrive and give a bountiful harvest).”

Encomienda and Ilagan emphasize that their project is co-created with the indigenous peoples of General Nakar and Infanta, Quezon and supported by a robust coalition of organizations including but not limited to: the Save Sierra Madre Youth Volunteer Organization (SSMYVO), Samahan ng mga Katutubong Agta, Dumagat, at Remontado na Pinagtatangol at Binabaka ang Lupaing Ninuno (SAGIBIN-LN), Tribal Center for Development (TCD), and the Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Programme (NTFP-EP). As the project moves along, the partners hope for more groups to join the coalition.

The two share that their plans focus on coalition and capacity-building. “Una, pag-uugnay ng komunidad sa mga funders, art organizations, ibang kooperatiba, IPOs, at pamahalaan. Pag nagawa ito, magkakaroon sila ng financial, product design, at cooperative management support para sa kanilang kabuhayang rattan. Ikalawa, pagsasanay sa sustenableng kultibasyon ng rattan, pagdisenyo ng yaring-kamay, marketing, at pamamahala ng kooperatiba. Pag nagawa ito, tataas ang kanilang kaalaman at kumpiyansang makisangkot sa kanilang kabuhayang rattan (Our plan is to connect communities with funders, art organizations, cooperatives, IPOs, and the local government. This will help them: they will have the support they need from financial and product design assistance to management. This will increase their knowledge and confidence about their craft),” Encomienda says.

By next year, they hope to have the means to build the coalition. “Huli, pagtatayo ng isang kooperatibang pinamumunuan ng kabataang katutubo. Pag nagawa ito, magkakaroon sila ng posisyon sa pamamahala ng kanilang komunidad, upang siguruhing mayroon silang kontrol sa kanilang hinaharap ( Lastly, we hope that they will be able to start a cooperative that they can manage),” Encomienda adds. She aspires to have the indigenous youth be able to represent and further the cause of their communities in prestigious programs such as the FBLP.

The FBLP is one of several programs integrated into the Leadership and Democracy (LEAD) Fellowship of YouthLed PH, an initiative of The Asia Foundation (TAF) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Some of the other programs undergone by Encomienda and her co-fellows are the Executive Course on Governance and Democracy of the Ateneo School of Government and the Servant Leadership for Democracy: Project Paragos of the Ayala Foundation.

Learn more about the FBLP.

Watch the event. 

Get in touch with the Initiative PH.