Ideas Positive calls on youth to join the conversation on public health

The youth from different cities in the Philippines and from countries in the Southeast Asian region are expected to converge in Iloilo City on August 12-13, 2018 for the Ideas Positive, the third Youth Forum on Public Health (IPYFPH).

The two-day event is considered the largest gathering of the youth who are working on the field of public health, governance, and development and it will be held at the Iloilo Convention Center in line with this year’s celebration of the International Youth Day.

The IPYFPH offers a venue for members of the youth sector to come together in order to help build a healthier Philippines by focusing conversations on pressing public health issues and by identifying problems so that appropriate actions can be undertaken through project initiatives that can be implemented in their respective localities.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs) will be a major theme that will be discussed in this year’s forum and the youth participants will show their contributions that helped realized targets for better health outlined in the SDGs.

Final preparations for the IPYFPH is underway and the youth aged 15 to 30 years old and young professionals are being called upon to fill-up registration by visiting www.ipyfph2018.org in order for their participation to be confirmed by the organizer.

What can you expect in the forum?

The forum is packed by learning activities. It will have plenary talks by invited speakers who are experts on public health from the United Nations, United Nations Development Programme Philippines, and ASEAN Foundation.

It will also have breakout sessions which will be facilitated to tackle different #GlobalGoals and their relation to health. Delegates can attend up to three breakout sessions.

The Day 1 of the Forum will provide participants different ways to be part in the public health conversation.

 Public Health Debates - delegates may join the debates in order to discuss public health issues with their fellow youth;
 Health and Tech Expo - participants can exhibit their innovative and creative contributions to public health;
 Advocacy Booths - youth organizations can showcase their health-related advocacy and activities at the booths;
 Health Research Presentation - young researchers may share of health researches;
 Health Journalism - campus journalists and budding writers can join the health journalism competition to express and share their opinions about a public health topic; and,
 Rapid Health Talks - the youth may share their ideas on improving the health landscape of the country.

From local to global

One of the highlights of Day 2 is the Ideas Positive Run 8 Grand Finals Presentation. Five out of the 17 teams who were a National Finalist of Ideas Positive Run 8 will present their project outcome by showing how they implemented the six-month initiative.

The projects in the Ideas Positive Run 8 ranged from innovative solutions on geriatric care in Ilocos Norte up to mental health awareness among the youth in Marawi City and it will showcase the capability of the youth in making a healthier Philippines and demonstrate how the youth can contribute in nation-building.

Considering the recently concluded Sangguniang Kabataan elections, Ideas Positive Youth Forum will hold a special session among SK elected officials to help them create effective and sustainable health projects for their constituents.

Who should join?

Students, professionals, and the out-of-school youth aged 15 to 30 are welcome to join. The registration fee is priced at PhP2,500 (50 USD) for students and Php3,500 PHP (70 USD) for professionals, inclusive of meals, a conference kit, and a certificate of attendance.

The Ideas Positive is the premier youth engagement program of Unilab Foundation, Inc. in the Philippines. It was established in 2012 with the aim of engaging the youth to create innovative solutions for public health issues in communities.

Now on its eighth run, the Ideas Positive proved instrumental in engaging over 37,000 youth by helping them transform more than 150 communities and touching the lives of more than 1.7 million Filipinos nationwide.

The Forum is supported by its partners: Sun Life Foundation, National Youth Commission, United Nations Development Programme Philippines, University of the Philippines Visayas-University Student Council, University of San Agustin Student Council, STEM.ph, Philippine Society of Youth Science Clubs, Iloilo Doctors College-Supreme Student Council, University of the Philippines Visayas Debate Society, and OPPO Philippines. (By Ted Aldwin Ong)