SOME of the country?s most outstanding student leaders are participating in the 12th National Ayala Young Leaders Congress (AYLC) Feb. 9-12 at the San Miguel Corp. Management Training Center in Alfonso, Cavite.

Theme of the three-and-a-half-day event that brings together 81 top college students is ?Ako: Pagbabago!?

Keynote speaker is Efren Peñaflorida, 2009 CNN Hero of the Year and founder of Dynamic Teen Co. DTC provides education to street children through the kariton klasrum (pushcart classroom).

Other forum speakers are South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Avance-Fuentes, Manila Water Co. president Rene Almendras, YouthVotePhilippines convenor Jaime Garchitorena, Probe Productions president Che-Che Lazaro, RockEd Philippines founder Gang Badoy, AYLC alumnus Edward Nino Puyod of Philippine Greenfarm Development Corp., Lipa City Councilor Concon Hernandez and Lesley Cordero of the United States Agency for International Development Energy and Clean Air Project.

Facilitators include McCann Erickson Philippines chair emeritus Emily Abrera, University of the Philippines professor Solita Monsod and ABS-CBN television host Pia Hontiveros-Pagkalinawan.

The congress is part of Ayala Group?s youth leadership development program ?Shaping Tomorrow?s Leaders.? AYLC director Simon Mossesgeld said it ?is one of the expressions of Ayala?s core value of nation-building.?

The annual event seeks to ?build the confidence and hone the leadership skills of the young leaders, nurture their commitment to integrity and principled leadership, foster their nationalism and idealism, and encourage them to become faithful stewards of their communities and the country?s future.?

Servant-leaders

The congress aims to give participants a ?learning-rich experience? through lectures and panel discussions, outdoor challenge courses and workshops. Every activity is designed to teach ?leadership that serves.?

?We in the Ayala group of companies believe that leadership founded on integrity and service leads to positive change,? said JP Orbeta, Ayala managing director for corporate resources and AYLC program director.

?The Ayala Young Leaders Congress aims to highlight the tremendous impact that each of these young Filipinos can make and, more importantly, the change we can all make by working together,? he said.

Action people

?What we really are looking at is their track record in actually doing something for the community, for their school,? Orbeta said. ? Identify a problem that you solved in your community. Ang tanong namin is, papano mo ginawa yun (Our question is, how did you do that)? How did you convince other people? Who inspired you??

After students are nominated by their schools, the documents submitted are screened by heads of the Ayala Group?s Talent Management and Recruitment Network. The top 150 nominees are then invited to Ayala Corp.?s headquarters in Makati City for panel interviews.

Key officers in the Ayala Group of Companies help make the final choices, led by Ayala Corp.?s chair emeritus Jaime Zobel de Ayala and his sons, Jaime Augusto, chair and chief executive officer, and Fernando Zobel de Ayala, president and chief operating officer.

Nominees have to be: Filipino citizens, 25 years old or younger; bona fide regular undergraduate students pursuing a bachelor?s degree for the first time; and in the top 25 percentile of their college.

Congress participants are selected on the bases of academic performance; strong record of service to their school and/or community; achievements in international, national, local or school organizations; and leadership impact.

Of this year?s 81 participants chosen from among 610 nominees submitted by 126 academic institutions, 36 are from Luzon, 21 from Visayas, nine from Mindanao and 15 from the National Capital Region.

For the first time, a seminary and the Philippine National Police Academy are sending delegates to the summit.

After the summit, delegates become members of the Ayala Young Leaders Alliance (AYLA), which now has 801 members. The AYLA has 17 local chapters in key cities, and three ad hoc committees in the Philippines and one in Singapore.

Last year, the chapters were mobilized for relief and rehabilitation work following Typhoons ?Ondoy? and ?Pepeng.?

Joseph Quesada, program manager and 2001 AYLC delegate, said participating in the congress was like going on a retreat. He described the experience as ?very touching and meaningful.?

?The most important part is that you?re with people of different backgrounds but [who] share a common love for the country,? he said.