My fellow young liberals, Mabuhay!
If there’s one thing that could be said of us liberals, it’s that we are never strangers nor fearful of change.
Certainly the last decade of the 20th century, and the first of the 21st, has been a time of great changes. Has it really been just over a decade since the Wall fell and the so-called “third wave” of democracy swept the world? The Internet is not a century old and yet it has changed the way we define ourselves and how our lives are lived. In fact, I can vaguely remember a time when there were no cellular phones, email or Facebook. Yet these things are as ubiquitous to us young people of the Information Age as anything in man’s history.
Yet even as humanity seemingly threw down the shackles to freedom and explored the horizons this new Age opened up for him, new challenges appeared that slowed or even stopped outright this growing democratization, just as old beliefs strove to rein in the so-called degradation of “traditional values.” And no region has seen this tension between the promises of change and freedom with the certainty of tradition and control than Asia.
It is within the context of my experiences as a youth leader in the most vibrant democracy of Asia that I press my suit as one of IFLRY’s Vice Presidents.
I believe that I have the necessary experience and exposure to not only meet the challenges facing us Young Liberals in this world of constant flux but also to reconcile these challenges with the demands of our movement to promote liberal democracy worldwide.
My election as IFLRY Vice President will focus, but not limited to, the following areas:
Programs and Advocacy: We have to develop new programs and new strategies on our advocacy campaigns. Our educational programs must not only be beneficial to the workings of the federation but of the member organizations as well. It must focus on skills capability building so their work at the local front would have more impact and success. We must also develop new way of managing our campaigns using new and available technologies that are effective and efficient in delivering the liberal message. This effort would set us apart from other political forces in terms of image and perception more distinctly recognized as carrying greater influence and effect. Our programs and advocacy would essentially embody our collective ideals and the encompassing change we offer the world
Strengthening of the Secretariat and Resource Mobilization: This program is the backbone of the success of IFLRY, without which all other programs would be futile initiatives. Particular attention should be given on how we could get the Secretariat to function better, more actively, and more deliberately. Resources would mean organizational, informational, knowledge, physical and most importantly financial resources must be ingrained in the operational mindset of the Secretariat. Therefore, a creation of Resource Management Team that will be tasked to draft a plan to make sure that all of our activities are actually covered including potential sources of finance as well as efficiently utilizing other resources is in order.
Expansion and Consolidation. IFLRY must expand its network where its presence is weak particularly in Asia. In this regard, the partnership with Regional Organization must be harnessed to realize this objective. It must also establish linkages not only with liberal youth organizations but with other stake holders that has the same vision as that of the federation. We can consolidate these gains by involving our MO’s in our cadre programs or creations of pool of trainers, media pool, writers pool, advocacy pool et. al.
Change – the kind that is positive, lasting and non-exclusionary – cannot come from using the old formulas and perspectives, nor can it be brought about by an uncompromising attitude to the context of what we wish to change. There must be a convergence in the changes we wish to bring about and an appreciation for the different situations where this change will operate in.
With your confidence, it is my fervent desire to be the agent of this change, and help lead our IFLRY into this new age.
Together we can change the world, and change starts today!
Jan-Argy Tolentino
www.janargy4iflryvp.wordpress.com
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