IAG, in partnership with UNICEF, has rolled out the “Adolescent Development, Participation and Peacebuilding” project in three municipalities of Maguindanao province in the ARMM.

The program will cater to indigenous young people aged 10-19 in the municipalities of Datu Blah Sinsuat, Upi, and South Upi. It seeks to increase awareness and strengthen capacity for decision-making among youth in indigenous communities on sexual and reproductive health, positive coping, violence prevention, and peacebuilding. It will also build a basis for further interventions to promote youth voice in the peace process and other related policies.

The program will enhance youth participation in society by developing “safe spaces” where young people can go to air their concerns and get proper guidance. It will support the three target municipalities in the creation of these “safe spaces”, including the hiring of facilitators to guide and address the concerns of young people on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, out-of-school adolescents will be trained using the Creating Connections life-skills module consisting of games and workshops with different lessons inserted in every topic to develop their confidence and decision-making skills. Another peacebuilding method dubbed “Usap Tayo” will provide a venue where young people can tackle key issues facing them through a process that fosters understanding and participation. A participatory video production building on the overarching themes of the program will also be conducted; the outputs will be shared on the internet.

During the inception workshops and courtesy visits conducted by IAG and UNICEF in October, local leaders expressed enthusiasm on the potential of the program to empower the youth and promote peace in their respective communities, with most saying the concept is “new, timely, and necessary.” The program also took notice how the municipality of Upi has already made a head start in terms of youth development with the establishment of its own Teen Center replete with an organizational structure composed of well-trained youth from its tri-people acting as youth mayor, youth councilors, and so on. Started in 2014, the initiative was recently recognized by the Rafael Salas Foundation.

The “Adolescent Development, Participation and Peacebuilding” program is managed by Jo Genna "Jude" Martin Jover, 2015 N-Peace awardee in the category “Untold Stories: Advocating for non-violence and the rights of indigenous people.”