The Islamic City of Marawi is hours away from where I live. Although it's basically in the same island, life is different there. It was slow moving. It was colder, greener, more conservative. Born and raised from a big city, it was a welcoming break. It was so different from what I was used to that it made me realize how beautiful my country is. How colorful, how culturally rich. How so Mindanao. 

I was invited as a resource speaker in the 1st Lanao Youth Leadership Summit. The 1st LYLS is a 3-day summit that convened 50 youth leaders from all over Lanao del Sur. Delegates underwent series of lectures and leadership workshops, including interactive discussions that will revolve on five main areas, these are: Environment, Health, Youth Empowerment, Education and Peace. The end-product of the participants will be project proposals that will be screened by a panel of critics at the end of the summit. The ones that successfully go through the process will be given a budgetary assistance for implementation.

I talked about Let's Do It Philippines Youth Davao, Eco-Tunza Generation, social media and communication as a vital tool in any advocacy. I was honored to even give some inputs about their project proposal. 

Although I went there to teach, I have learned more. 
There's so much potential in this city and I have high hopes that the new generation of youth leaders will not only wake the sleeping lady but empower her to make Marawi the great city that it already is. 

Here are some pictures of the place and the event. 

Credits to the Project Director Jalalodin Mustari and his team. Thank you for inviting me and the ever warm hospitality. 

Alhamdulillah, what a success!