COTABATO CITY—The Bangsamoro Youth Commission (BYC) and the United Nations Youth Thematic Group (UNYTG) Mindanao held first partnership meeting on Wednesday, February 2 at BPDA Function Hall, Bangsamoro Government Center, Cotabato City.
The meeting was aimed at reviewing the progress and ways forward of the UNYTG in line with the BYC’s 2nd Development Partners Forums (DPF) and discussing relevant youth programs of each UNYTG member in 2022.
BYC Chairperson Marjanie Mimbantas Macasalong said the partnership meeting is very important as it would further strengthen the partnership and commitments of the two agencies for the development and programming of their future youth activities.
He emphasized that development partners play a vital role in supporting the BYC for its successful programs on youth development.
“The Commission does not take full credit of these significant accomplishments, because, in the process, many development partners have helped in planning and formulating these programs and activities,” Chairperson Macasalong added.
Meanwhile, BYC Commissioner Nasserudin Dunding representing Maguindanao with Cotabato City and Special Geographic Areas said the meeting is a first step towards the conduct of the much awaited next DPF session — a “bigger, wider and more inclusive platform for development partners’ participation.”
“It [DPF] is a manifestation that the Government of the Day is not only engaging with its fellow government institutions but also [having] very meaningful engagements with its development partners,” Commissioner Dunding added.
UNYTG Mindanao members who were in attendance, both virtual and physical, during the meeting were UNYTG Chairperson Andrew Morris, UNICEF Representative Rohanie Baraguir-Datumanong, IOM representative Jonel Gedoria, UNFPA representative Rochelle Yu, UN Women representative Marlon Viejo, UNDP representative Amira Lim, ILO representative Elias Salazar and Gwendolyn Fabros, and UNODC representative Renato Reynaldo Rosales.
During the meeting, both BYC and UNYTG Mindanao member agencies presented their programs, activities and project on youth to align them with the BYC youth priority agenda.
UNICEF Representative Rohanie Baraguir-Datumanong said each of the UNYTG member agency have different mandates and programs. However, in terms of supporting the Bangsamoro Government, specifically the BYC, they position themselves as one United Nations (UN).
“The UN is here to support the [Bangsamoro] government’s highest priority and plan. By doing so, we will ensure na ‘yung lahat ng programa namin sa youth is aligned with the priority na meron ang BYC,” she emphasized.
BYC established the Development Partners Forum (DPF) with many development partners that implement youth-related programs in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). It became an avenue for these partners to discuss their programs on youth together with the Bangsamoro Government through the BYC.
UNYTG is an inter-agency working group of UN Agencies that envision to mainstream youth issues in the UN programming and other initiatives through joint approaches, addressing the highest priority issues for youth. (BYC PR Unit)
