YOUTH URGED TO BE 'PASAWAY'

A ranking official of the National Youth Commission (NYC) encouraged young Filipinos to be "pasaway" by "standing up against the status quo" to effect positive change in their communities and the country.

"Young people [have] stood up against the status quo. Young people have changed a lot of endings in many stories," NYC Commissioner Percival Cendaña said at the opening of the screening of the 20 finalists for the Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO) Awards.

For Cendaña, the TAYO finalists epitomize the "pasaway" tag as they were able to break away from the norm and find, implement, reinvent, and provide "cool solutions" to "age-old" problems in their communities.

"Cool means appropriate, current, and relevant. Cool is a superlative to young people," said Cendaña, hoping that the stories of these 20 finalists could inspire other youth and hopefully, the nation.

Senator Bam Aquino, chairman of the panel of judges and a co-founder of the annual TAYO Awards, said that the "pasaway mindset" has enabled advocates to push for reforms and help make "sustainable change happen."

"Meaningful change doesn't happen when people just stand by and accept the status quo. Long-term, sustainable change happens when people are willing to challenge the norm and take risks," Sen. Aquino stressed.

The lawmaker also said that the TAYO finalists are already winners for effecting change in their respective communities through different programs and projects.

The 20 finalists bested over 300 entries from around the country, for the innovative and changemaking projects that they started in their local communities, schools, and workplaces.