NUSP sets sail for LAYAG National Congress for student councils

This is a press release from the National Union of Students of the Philippines.

The National Union of Students of the Philippines will be holding its 2021 National Congress with the theme, “LAYAG: Navigating Student Leadership in Turbulent Times,” on September 18 and 19.

This comes following the launch of “Education Week – Daluyong” last August 15, with 124 student councils and youth organizations nationwide calling for the safe reopening of schools.

“We want to return to face-to-face classes, for it is clear to us that distance learning poses more risks and drawbacks than it does with benefits. Many students and teachers are having difficulties in coping, and many have already dropped out of their schools. ” NUSP’s Head of Campaigns and Advocacies Coleen Mañibo said in a statement.

In August, NUSP conducted its “National Affairs Week – Island Hopping” that served as as a platform for relevant, nationalistic, and patriotic campaigns addressing socio-political issues in our country. This included topics such as the anti-terror law and the 2022 National elections.

NUSP also launched the “Students’ Rights and Welfare Week – Aguhon” from August 29 to September 4 to uphold student representation and youth participation. This included a bill-drafting workshop in partnership with Kabataan Partylist, where students are trained with the processes of policy development and proposals.

Following this, NUSP will also be holding a two-day leadership training for all interested students nationwide. 

“With this leadership training, we want to equip student-leaders with the skills to effectively serve their constituents. From productively managing groups of people, launching campaigns, to writing statements, we want to cultivate these types of competencies for the purpose of service.” Mañibo said.

“Aside from this, we are experiencing many threats to our democratic rights, and repression runs rampant in many places – schools are not an exemption. Students must know these rights they have and be ready to take a stand to defend them. This is also one of the main goals of our leadership training,” she added.

For its “Anniversary Week – KASANG64 sa PAGLAYAG” happening from September 13 to 17, the union will be celebrating the 64th anniversary since its establishment in 1957 and will look back on all of the victories achieved by students then and now. The commemoration aims to set the stage for more triumphs as they continue to forward pro-student campaigns.

“For every build-up week, there are certain goals we want to achieve. We want students to understand the current conditions of our education system and the campaigns for #LigtasNaBalikEskwela, which was covered in our Education Week,” Mañibo said.

The events are packed with webinars, workshops, and interactive sessions that will serve as a venue to foster proactive student-leaders nationwide. With speakers such as Kabataan Representative Sarah Elago and human rights lawyer Chel Diokno, NUSP vows to continue to embolden and amplify the campaigns that defend the rights and welfare of the Filipino youth.  – Rappler.com