ILOILO CITY, Aug 8 -- Two youths from this city are part of the 27-delegation of the Philippines to the Ship for Southeast Asian and Japanese Youth Program (SSYEAP).
Kelly Binder, an alumna of University of San Agustin, and Jasper Ruby Vijar of University of the Philippines Visayas Miag-ao Campus, met with the Iloilo City Council Tuesday morning to promote the program and solicit the legislative body’s support.
Binder said that for 44 years now, “the SSEAYP has been bringing together more than 300 youth from Japan and the Southeast Asian region annually for once-in-a-lifetime cultural exchange program on board MS Nippon Maru.
“The participants experience institutional visits, homestay program, dialogues, and participate in discussions regarding the youth,” Binder said.
The Philippine contingent, called “Bulawan,” the Visayan term for gold, is going to participate in the program from October 23 to December 15, 2017 in Japan, Cambodia, Thailand, Lao PDR, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
While on board the ship, Vijar said he and Binder will have the opportunity to present the best not only of Iloilo City but also of Western Visayas and the Philippines.
Vijar said the two of them will showcase the culture of Panay-Bukidnon, an indigenous peoples group in the mountains of central Iloilo, the Dinagyang Festival of Iloilo City and the Hablon weaving in southern Iloilo, among others.
City Tourism Officer, Junel Ann Divinagracia, also the SSYEAP national leader, told the Council that Binder and Vijar underwent a rigorous screening process. (Maricyn A. De los Santos/PNA)