#gys2018

Global Youth Summit is an annual celebration held to inspire youth with a series of talks from various leaders and influencers about the current global issues. It was their 6th year and approximately 19,000 delegates all over the country attended the said event.

I first attended this event last March 2017 and I went home happy and filled with learnings that's why I honestly wait for this year GYS! I even pre-registered the moment they opened the registration and took 5 tickets even if I am not sure if I could go nor if I have someone to come with. Haha! And I couldn't be more excited after knowing that Prof. Heydarian would be one of the speakers and December Avenue would be the one to perform at the Youth Fest! Prof. Heydarian is a well-known political analyst, I follow his twitter account and read some of his articles & comments about various political issues - either foreign or local. And of course, December Avenue, who I discovered their songs just recently (last April, thanks to Spotify haha) but fell in love with them like damn much.

On the d-day of the event, I was in a hurry because I leave the house late. My classmate who was already there told me that the line for the ticket was already long. I arrived in MOA at 11:30 AM and went directly to the ticket booth, but when it's my turn, I was told that all the tickets were given already. I was so frustrated because I thought I won't be able to enter!! The person before me has received hers and I was the one next in line!! Fortunately, several minutes later, they continue releasing tickets and I got 2 VIP! I was still lucky though... I really didn’t expect it! Haha.

Anyway, here are some remarkable quotes from my fave speakers:

"When you start something, you need to finish it. There's no point going halfway." - Mr. Titon Mitra, UNDP's Country Director.

"Nation should focus on creating autonomous, capable, meritocratic, and impersonal bureaucracy." - Prof. Heydarian, Political Analyst.

"We are here in this world because of the women who gave birth to us." - Ms. Farah Ali Ghodsinia, Founder, Children of Mindanao

I learned a lot from these three - they were very informative, though some speakers get on my nerves. First, Ms. Chit Juan, who was supposed to talk about SDG 5 but she seems to focus more on setting gender roles, invalidating what another gender can now also do, therefore settling for diversity as the solution. And the last speaker, Mr. Joey Concepcion, who was sorry for being late (how I wish he didn't come anymore). LOL. His speech doesn't make sense, for example:

"We are poor country controlled by rich families but THERE'S NOTHING WRONG ABOUT THAT."

"Poverty is the BEST MOTIVATOR."

LOLOLOL. STOP ROMANTICIZING POVERTY AND PLEASE CHECK YOUR PRIVILEGE! IT'S SPILLING!

After the talks, December Avenue performed and this is the first time I heard them live! I was actually wishing that they will sing “Eroplanong Papel” (my fave) and they didn’t disappoint me! My wish was granted and it was actually their opening song! They started it right, hahaha. My heart was screaming while listening and at the same time singing with them. I honestly don’t know if I will cry or be happy at the moment because I fucking realized how sad their songs were, haha.

Above all, it was another amazing experience! Thank you so much, GYS organizers! I would definitely come again next year!