𝗡𝗗𝗗𝗨 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗦𝗗𝗚𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗡-𝗝𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗝𝗮𝗸𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗮

𝙋𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙉𝙞𝙘𝙤 𝙐. 𝙂𝙚𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙜𝙖, a BS Environmental Planning student of Notre Dame of Dadiangas University (NDDU), represented the Philippines at the 𝘼𝙎𝙀𝘼𝙉-𝙅𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙣 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙀𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 (𝘼𝙅𝙔𝙀𝙇𝙉) 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 held in 𝙅𝙖𝙠𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙖, 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙖 from August 11 to 13, 2025.

The international program, organized by the 𝘼𝙎𝙀𝘼𝙉-𝙅𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙣 𝘾𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙚 (𝘼𝙅𝘾) and the 𝘼𝙎𝙀𝘼𝙉 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙊𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 (𝘼𝙔𝙊), gathered 35 young leaders from ASEAN member states to strengthen their capacity in project management, advocacy, and policymaking. The training placed special focus on plastic pollution and marine plastic waste, aligning with 𝗦𝗗𝗚 𝟭𝟰: 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿, which seeks to conserve and sustainably use oceans, seas, and marine resources.

Participants joined intensive workshops on Project Management 101, Creative Campaign 101, and Policymaking 101. They also visited the Embassy of Japan, the ASEAN Secretariat, and the Kertabumi Recycling Centre—immersive experiences that highlighted regional and international strategies for sustainability. These sessions not only fostered regional collaboration but also embodied 𝗦𝗗𝗚 𝟭𝟳: 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀, strengthening ties among youth, governments, and institutions in addressing environmental challenges.

At the conclusion of the training, Geolaga and his team launched 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝘿.𝙐.𝙂.𝙊.𝙉.𝙂. (𝘿𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙐𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙂𝙪𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙊𝙘𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙉𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨), a long-term environmental initiative funded by the ASEAN-Japan Centre. The project aims to preserve marine life, raise awareness on marine plastic pollution, and promote the ridge-to-reef approach within the Buayan-Malungon River Basin (BMRB) and the Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape (SBPS). Through mentorship, capacity-building, and community-based action, the project supports both SDG 13: Climate Action and SDG 15: Life on Land, recognizing the interconnectedness of ecosystems from rivers to oceans.

“𝘞𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘋.𝘜.𝘎.𝘖.𝘕.𝘎. 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘴 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵,” Geolaga said. “𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.”

NDDU officials expressed pride in Geolaga’s achievement, emphasizing how his participation reflects the university’s commitment to 𝗦𝗗𝗚 𝟰: 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, particularly in empowering students to become agents of change in their communities.

The AJYELN program underscores how collective youth action, rooted in sustainability and global solidarity, can directly advance the SDGs and inspire long-term environmental stewardship across ASEAN and beyond.