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Despite numbers, why young Filipinos remain marginalized in political discourse

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Wena Cos, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Youth leaders from various organizations conduct a protest in front of the Chinese Consulate in Makati on the eve of Philippine Independence Day, Tuesday. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/file" src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/12/09/20190611-chinese-embassy-protest-gc-9549.jpg"/><figcaption>Youth leaders from various organizations conduct a protest in front of the Chinese Consulate in Makati on the eve of Philippine Independence Day, Tuesday. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/file</figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA—A youth empowerment advocate on Wednesday said young Filipinos could change how politics are run in the country, but their voice continued to be set aside.</p><p>Lynrose Jane Genon, an executive committee member of Young Women Leaders for Peace in the Philippines, said in a youth leaders discussion that young Filipinos have a &quot;demographic advantage&quot; in the electorate, because they make up 52 percent of registered voters younger than 30 years old, or 31.4 million voters.</p><p>Despite the numbers, their voice seemed to remain unheard.</p><p>The talk was part of the Summit for Democracy forum organized by the United States Department of State.</p><p>The summit&#x27;s agenda is &quot;for democratic renewal and to tackle the greatest threats faced by democracies today through collective action.&quot;</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SheilaCoronel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SheilaCoronel</a>: &quot;Journalists need to be financially independent so they can do their work without fear or favor. Media markets in many countries have been distorted in favor of state and crony-owned media, we need to level the playing field.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/5t7JfRnRA9">pic.twitter.com/5t7JfRnRA9</a></p>— Wena Cos (@wenacos) <a href="https://twitter.com/wenacos/status/1468555075572232192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2021</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>Genon said: &quot;Young people&#x27;s enthusiasm is often met with barriers, young people are marginalized from political processes, and largely excluded from elected political seats with dynasties still dominating in the 2022 elections.&quot; </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/07/17/duterte-leftist-youth-wasting-time-fighting-for-ideology">Duterte: Leftist youth wasting time fighting for ideology</a></li></ul><p>&quot;While platforms for youth engagement exist, the lack of civic education for youth to prepare them for effective participation for these platforms is largely non-existent or ineffective,&quot; added Genon, a full-time faculty member at Mindanao State University—Iligan Institute of Technology</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/08/21/caravan-ng-marcos-duterte-tandem-sa-qc-dinumog">Caravan ng Marcos-Duterte tandem sa QC dinumog, nagdulot ng traffic</a></li></ul><p>She said social norms hindered younger people, too, from active participation in political discourse.</p><p>&quot;[In] highly patriarchal communities, stereotypes on age and gender intersect and cause young women leaders to be excluded, and their contribution to strengthen democracy become untapped and in some communities invisible,&quot; she said.</p><p>Meanwhile, internet access is a &quot;double-edged sword,&quot; Genon added. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/08/21/pacquiao-says-no-compromise-with-friends-helping-out-presidential-bid">Pacquiao says &#x27;no compromise&#x27; with friends helping out his 2022 presidential bid</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1840100" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/08/21/ka-leody-says-not-backing-out-of-presidential-race">Ka Leody says not backing out of presidential race but willing to engage in unity talks</a></li></ul><p>&quot;There is also prevalent information pollution online and digital repression in the country to advance political objectives. This diminishes the quality of democracy, it saps trust from democratic institutions, it distorts electoral processes, and fosters polarization online,&quot; she said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/17/21/study-reveals-pinoy-students-struggle-to-spot-fake-news">Halalan 2022: Study reveals Pinoy students struggle to spot fake news</a></li></ul><p>Genon also brought up red-tagging threats faced by the youth during the pandemic. </p><p>&quot;[This is] constricting further the increasingly diminishing democratic space in the Philippines where activists, human rights lawyers, and journalists, and even ordinary Filipinos on social media are under threat,&quot; she said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/09/21/enough-is-enough-party-list-urges-govt-to-stop-red-tagging-youth">&#x27;Enough is enough&#x27;: Party-list urges gov&#x27;t to stop red-tagging youth</a></li></ul><p>Genon said government must encourage young people to become leaders, something that could rebuild their trust in it.</p><p>She was joined by fellow youth leaders Mwila Chriseddy Bwangga, founder and executive director of BeRelevant Africa; Margarita Maira, advocacy coordinator of Ahora Nos Toca Participar, and Daria Onyshko, program officer of Community of Democracies.</p><p>The Summit for Democracy will continue for another 2 days with panels discussing democracy and how it intersects with the private sector, gender issues and inclusivity, technology, and the internet.</p><p>The talk will also tackle the plight of political prisoners, besides democracy amid COVID-19 and corruption, and the protection of human rights by empowering human rights defenders and independent media. </p><p>An hourlong youth town hall also will be held before, before US President Joe Biden closes the event.</p>

Governments should recognize and invest in youth leadership, said a Filipino academic who spoke at the Summit for Democracy on Wednesday.

Despite numbers, why young Filipinos remain marginalized in political discourse

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Despite numbers, why young Filipinos remain marginalized in political discourse

Wena Cos,

ABS-CBN News

Published December 09, 2021 07:35 PM PHT

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Updated January 12, 2022 02:01 PM PHT

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Summit for democracy

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Lynrose Jane Genon

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