MANILA — A 19-year-old development studies student from the De La Salle University-Manila was recently recognized by the foundation of late American musician Nile Rodgers for leading a youth advocacy program.

The organization said that Mirus Ponon’s determination led to numerous campaigns for youth empowerment, consistent with its vision for “a global family by creating programs that promote cultural diversity while nurturing and mentoring the vision, talents, and ideas of young people who are positively changing the world.”

“Similarly, Mirus’s poverty did not hinder him but instead motivated him to advocate for disadvantaged communities. His service journey led him to numerous opportunities, leadership roles, and eventually he was selected as one of three Filipino students to participate in the ASEAN Youth Conference and elected as the Philippine Officer of the ASEAN University Student Council Union,” the foundation said.

“He was determined to use his platform to empower other young people to take the same journey.”

The student, who was awarded as The 2021 Global Teen Leader last April 29, is the founder of the ASEAN Youth Advocates Network with over 20,000 volunteers that has helped 150,000 people.

“Our mantra in creating positive change is to make advocacy a lifestyle of the youth, (as well as) inclusively educating, advocating, and inspiring the youth. The ASEAN Youth Advocates Network has a main office and eight country chapters all around Southeast Asia which the principal office oversees," Ponon told ABS-CBN News.

“The ASEAN Youth Advocates Network started to run virtually after scaling from the Philippines in August of 2020 and expanding seemed a risk. Despite this, we changed our perspective, seeing this as an opportunity to grow as youth advocates,” he added.

He said the recognition would help the organization reach more children and make it grow.

“The program will give me more opportunities and experiences to learn from my fellow global teen leaders, share experiences during the peace summit. The foundation has also promised to provide us with a mentor to guide us for a year in expanding our initiatives,” the DLSU student said.

“After consulting my colleagues after coincidentally representing the United Nations two weeks before receiving the award, we officially are scaling to be the Global Youth Advocates Network by August 12, 2021, in commemoration of International Youth Day,” he said.

Ponon noted that it is vital to reach out to children as the country is still facing the coronavirus pandemic.

“Families are losing their loved ones, and our fellow citizens... are trying their best to cope in this time of uncertainty,” he said.

Global Teen Leaders are chosen yearly by the We Are Family Foundation. They are usually brought to the Three Dot Dash Just Peace Summit held in New York.

The said summit will convene virtually from July 12 to August 18 this year.

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