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Through the years, the National Youth Parliament (NYP) has been considered as the biggest gathering of youth leaders representing various sectors, cities, and towns, province or regions to discuss their current issues and concerns. Held every two years, nearly two hundred youth leaders attend the said 3-day convention to formulate legislative agenda on youth.
There have already been five NYPs, and the 5th NYP seemed to be different from the past Parliaments. During the 5th NYP, the delegates were given the opportunity to take part in the review and enhancement of the Medium Term Youth Development Plan (MTYDP) 2005-2010. The MTYDP serves as “the blueprint of youth development programs”, until 2010. This was the first time that the National Youth Commission (NYC) initiated such pursuit of directly involving the youth parliamentarians in the improvements of the MTYDP.
Aside from the usual parliamentary process, the NYC also grouped the delegates into their respective regions to formulate strategic actions and plans for the said MTYDP. The 15 region groups formulated concrete actions for the proper implementation of the MTYDP in their respective regions. The strategic actions were focused on employment, education, health, youth participation, values, and youth with special needs. The strategic actions of different Region groups vary depending on what the groups believe should be prioritized and much needed by their community. The actions and plans of different Region groups were presented to the Parliament for ratification.
The 5th NYP Task Force was also created and each Region group elected their Regional Convenor. The Regional Convenors have been tasked to facilitate the proper execution of MTYDP’s strategic actions to their regions. Starting 2005, the Regional Convenors will hold regular meetings with the NYC for consultation, follow-ups, and sharing of best practices with each other.
The creation of Regional Task Force proved that the 5th NYP was not just a spectacle of youth leaders assembled together to draft a legislative youth agenda. The 5th NYP had also been a venue to generate concrete actions for the youth and by the youth. The 5th NYP has just proven that the real debate on youth issues crosses the four walls of the assembly hall.
The path toward the full realization of the NYP as a venue for policymaking and implementation is no less tough to traverse. The commitment, however, of all delegates to put any plans into actions will make the NYP’s ultimate goal of serving the youth more pronounced in the next five years.

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