RAFI Turns Over Programs to Youth Group

Believing in the youth’s capability to lead, Ramon Aboitiz Foundation  Inc. (RAFI) turned over the management of its Multi-city Youth  eXchange (MYX) and Young Minds on Xplore (YMX) programs to the Young  Heroes for Cebu (YHC) in a partnership agreement signing held last  July 10 at the Sinulog Hall of the Rizal Library and Museum, Cebu City.

YHC is a youth organization composed of alumni of the third run of the  YMX, an immersion program in Europe for Cebuano youth organized by  RAFI in partnership with the Vriendschapsband Haarlemmermeer?Cebu  (VHC), the City of Kortrijk, and the City of Cebu.

The agreement signing was one of the highlights of the welcome dinner  for the delegates of the second run of MYX, the counterpart immersion  program in Cebu for Dutch and Belgian youth, which YHC would be  anchoring starting this year.

MYX 2 adult leaders, Nanda van Dijk and Kim Walgraeve representing VHC  and the City of Kortrijk, respectively, signed as witnesses to the  agreement.  Councilor James Cuenco, Chair of the Committee on  International Relations, also signed as witness in behalf of the City  of Cebu.

?After their trip in Europe, YMX 3 delegates, who now call themselves  the Young Heroes for Cebu, decided to pay it forward and take on the  challenge of sharing the MYX-YMX opportunity to more young people,?  Mel Yan, program officer of RAFI?Eduardo Aboitiz Development Studies  Center (EADSC), said in his opening message.

MYX, which was started by RAFI-EADSC in 2006 under the name  ?Pinoy-Dutch eXplore (PiDeX)?, is a program under the framework of the  sister-city relationship between Cebu City and two European  cities?Haarlemmermeer, The Netherlands and Kortrijk, Belgium.

The first run of its counterpart program, YMX, was conducted in 2007.

RAFI shall be guiding YHC in organizing the said exchange programs  towards full assumption of the latter in a three- to five-year period.

EADSC is under the Leadership & Citizenship focus area of RAFI, which  aims to groom future leaders and influencers in the community. Other  focus areas of RAFI are Integrated Development, Micro-finance &  Entrepreneurship, Culture & Heritage, and Education.

For more information about MYX-YMX, you may contact Argelyn Adlawon at  0922-815-9728 or email youngheroesforcebu@yahoo.com. For more  information about other programs of EADSC, please call 418-7234 local  110 and look for Mel Yan, or visit www.rafi.org.ph or www.facebook.com/rafi.org.ph, or follow @rafiorgph on Twitter.