Bangsamoro Youth Commission explores partnership opportunities with ASOG

On 15 November 2024, a delegation from the Bangsamoro Youth Commission (BYC) visited the Ateneo School of Government (ASoG) to explore opportunities for collaboration on youth development in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

The delegation was composed of technical officers from the BYC led by Ms. Settie Ivy Ampatuan, OIC Chief of the Technical Services Division. The visit was part of BYC’s institutional learning exchange visit in Metro Manila aimed at strengthening their office’s capacities in policy research, program development, and youth engagements.

Dr. Philip Arnold P. Tuano, Dean of ASOG, together with Mr. Javier R. Jimenez, Academic Program Head, Ms. Sharon Grace S. Yabut, Executive Education Program Head, and Ms Ivyrose S. Baysic, Ateneo Policy Center Unit Head, presented the different programs and services of the School highlighting its engagements with the youth sector. Mr. Nizam Pabil, Program Manager of the Ateneo Bangsamoro Initiative under the Ateneo Policy Center, also discussed the School’s ongoing initiatives in BARMM as part of its commitment to assist in the ongoing political transition in the region.

The visit highlighted the crucial need for collaboration between the two organizations to strengthen youth development efforts in BARMM, especially on policy development. Ms Ampatuan shared BYC’s need to strengthen its capacity in serving its mandate as the primary policy-making and coordinating body in the region on all matters concerning the youth sector. She also shared their ongoing initiatives where a collaboration with ASoG may be explored including their policy ideation impact challenges, Bangsamoro Youth Parliament, and the creation of the Comprehensive Youth Development Plan in BARMM.

Dr. Tuano closed the meeting by expressing the School’s continued commitment to assisting BYC and other stakeholders in BARMM for the success of the ongoing transition in the region.