Democracy Camp Philippines

Democracy Camp Philippines is as an intensive one week seminar-workshop for youth leaders, designed to provide them with in-depth and immersive training in the critical knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary for them to be effective citizens in a democracy. Interspersed with practical and real-world skills training in program management and consensus building, Democracy Camp Philippines will further hone the leadership skills of the participants. In short, it is an intensive one week activity for education and leadership in democracy.

The event will also designed as a forum for youth leaders around the country to engage in dialogue over critical concepts and issues directly relevant to Philippine democracy. These concepts include the development of the Filipino identity and nationalism, constitutional liberalism, economic citizenship, and civic culture. The issues may range from corruption, electoral reform, the role of media, local governance, to issues on globalization and participatory governance.

Here are the youth leaders of Sulu, Basilan and Lamitan who joined Democracy Camp ready to make democracy work! pic.twitter.com/J1Q40ZG6Jn

— PH Civic Education (@pcced) August 22, 2015

About 100 members of the Alburquerque Youth Task Force attend Democracy Camp in Tagbilaran @NYCPilipinas pic.twitter.com/0RDa1FZXW1

— PH Civic Education (@pcced) May 22, 2014

The core objective of education in and for democracy for the youth leaders will be achieved through the following activities:

• Lecture-discussions: the lecture discussions will be spread throughout the week. The lectures will be based on the core content of the Civic Education Training Seminars already being delivered by the Philippine Center for Civic Education and Democracy Practical Workshops: these workshops will provide the participants with practical skills that they will need in the context of their responsibilities:Consensus-building and Conflict Management
  • Project Management and Advocacy
  • Debate
• Discussion-workshops: these will participant-driven sessions on the lectures delivered, and will allow the leaders to process their experience and express their own views on the topic and discuss current issues as they relate to the core concepts of democracy and their own situations

• Solidarity sessions: these will be interactive sessions that will allow the participants to get to know each other and build up trust and encourage dialogue. There will be a cultural night, a film showing, and bonfire.

• Democracy Camp Debate: this will be a showcase activity of the camp, where the participants will engage in a debate on a contentious issue. This will be to highlight the role of reasoned discourse in democracy, as the primary means by which conflicts should be resolved.
• Public Governance Scorecard Workshop: this activity – in use in more than 20 cities nationwide – will provide the leaders an opportunity to craft the vision, core values as well as measures of success for each of their areas