Press Release

Filipino youth across North America to gather this weekend for international conference

November 25, 2005

A group of concerned Filipino youth is set to come
together this weekend to understand the links between the struggle for human rights in the Philippines and the search for their identity as immigrants in Canada’s multicultural society.

Answering the need to understand their shared
history, Filipino youth from across Canada, the U.S., and the Philippines hope to reclaim their heritage of struggle on the 35-year anniversary of the First Quarter Storm (FQS) of 1970 when youth in Manila took to the streets in 50,000 to 100,000-strong rallies to protest the repressive U.S.-backed Ferdinand Marcos administration.

Judy Taguiwalo, a women’s studies professor at the
University of the Philippines will address the conference delegation as a torture and political prisoner survivor of the dark period of Martial Law imposed by Marcos. She finds hope in today’s Filipino youth’s desire to learn lessons from past struggles to collectively advance their situation in the years to come. She will be joined by other FQS and current youth activists, including a keynote address from Prof. Jose Maria Sison, chief political consultant of the National
Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in peace negotiations with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP).

“To tackle rampant problems of racism and the lack of education for Filipino youth in Canada, we see the importance of drawing inspiration and learning lessons from the student movement in the 1970s to improve our conditions as a community here,” said conference organizer Carlo Sayo of the Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance-B.C. “Six out of every 10 Filipino youth in Vancouver are not completing high school, only four have the option of attending post-secondary education. Which of the four can afford to go? Which of the remaining will finish?” questioned Sayo.

“Filipino youth in Canada today are quickly becoming the next generation of cheap labour,” explained Joy Carreon of Kabataang Montreal, here in Vancouver to join the conference. “Particularly for newly-arrived youth from the Philippines who are the children of low-wage domestic workers making up the majority of our community across Canada, the full support and services needed for them to develop to their fullest potential here are seriously lacking,” she continued.

The conference will also mark the 10-year anniversary of the Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance-B.C. in its ongoing efforts to understand their roots and respond to the needs of their rapidly growing community in Canada.

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Media are cordially invited to attend conference parts open to the public, November 25 to 27 at the Russian Hall, 600 Campbell Avenue (& Georgia Street), Vancouver. To view the conference program or for more information, please view: <http://www.ugnayan.net>