120 STUDENT LEADERS GATHER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS CONGRESS

By: Rhea Matilde A. Ballesteros, GPC–SP

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About 120 student leaders from the various public and private high schools in the province gathered for the La Union Youth Congress on Human Rights on December 7-8, 2019 at the Diego Silang Hall, City of San Fernando, La Union.

The said congress was conducted in observance of the 71st Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was spearheaded by Sangguniang Panlalawigan Member Nancy Corazon M. Bacurnay, Chair of the SP Committee on Justice and Human Rights and Committee on Education and Culture. It aims to promote human rights education and inculcate in the mind of the students the importance of protection of human rights.

La Union Schools Division Superintendent Atty. Donato D. Balderas said that the congress is a good avenue for them to learn and gain leadership skills which will help them cope with the demands of the 21st century.

During the congress, the student leaders were taught of various topics relative to human rights which included the 30 human rights set out in the UDHR discussed by SPM Nancy Corazon M. Bacurnay; Children’s Rights In and Out of School by Mr. Danilo T. Balino of the Commission on Human Rights; Child Abuse and Child Trafficking by Atty. Yolanda A. Salanga; and the Salient Features of the Law on Cyber Bullying and Cyber Libel discussed by Atty. Jessamine Lynn Dale Garcinez of the Provincial Legal Office.

The students also took part in team building activities such as candle lighting ceremony in commemoration of the human rights victims; commitment setting through hand printing to end human rights abuses; “breaking the ice” to encourage the youth to break their silence and speak up for what is right; and “web-making” to remind the youth that of unity amid diversity.

Gov. Francisco Emmanuel “Pacoy” R. Ortega III presented the Agri-Tourism Development Strategy of the province, its journey to Transformative Governance, and the basic services, programs and projects PGLU provides especially to the youth. He said that the youth has vital role and contribution to nation building.

The La Union Youth Congress on Human Rights is an annual activity of the Province of La Union conducted every first week of December in observance the UDHR which was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948.