YLDA Concludes Executive Committee Meeting in Manila
2008-08-15

The YLDA Leadership meeting with CALD officers and FNF Manila on July 30, 2008 at FNF Manila Office. At the foreground are FNF Manila Representative Siegfried Herzog and CALD Secretary General Nereus Acosta.

A revised and updated strategic and communications plan. A new plan of action for the rest of the year. Renewed partnership ties with the International Federation of Liberal Youths (IFLRY) and Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD). Closer working relationships amongst YLDA Executive Committee members. A stronger and better YLDA. These, in a nutshell, summarized the achievements of the Manila Executive Committee Meeting of the Young Liberals and Democrats of Asia.

YLDA President Rajendra Mulmi spearheaded the Executive Committee meeting barely a day after YLDA concluded its participation in the Bureau meeting of IFLRY in Makati City and Subic Bay in Zambales, Philippines where YLDA, through its Philippine member organization Kabataang Liberal ng Pilipinas of KALIPI successfully fifty young liberals from all over the world.

The YLDA Executive Committee meeting in Manila had a three-part schedule. The first part brought the YLDA Executive Committee to Moncada, Tarlac where former YLDA President Jonathan Malaya hosted their two-day Strategic Planning meeting from July 27 to 29.

"My identity as a young liberal has always been identified with YLDA. As founding president of the federation, it is incumbent upon to me to ensure that YLDA remains strong as ever. Hosting this planning meeting is just but one way of fulfilling this duty. YLDA will always be welcome to the Philippines and to our home," declares Mr. Malaya during a brief and informal meeting with the YLDA officers as he and his wife Lanie welcome them to his farmhouse.

The second and third parts of the schedule saw YLDA officers meet with FNF Manila and Liberal Youth South Asia or LYSA to iron out particular issues in their existing partnership and hold a dialogue with the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats or CALD for exploring deeper partnership, respectively.

After the meeting with LYSA, an agreement was reached for the South Asians to study and inform YLDA of the feedback regarding the proposal presented by the FNF that contains provisions for cost and information sharing, communications protocols, and resolving membership issues between YLDA and LYSA.

The YLDA-LYSA dialogue with FNF Manila Representative Siegfried Herzog held at FNF Manila Office on July 29, 2008. In the picture (L-R) are Mr. Herzog, Camelia Astuti, Pey Canlas, Deependra Chaulagain, Rajendra Mulmi, Chee Wey Hng, and Jan Argy Tolentino.

The meeting with CALD also paved the way for YLDA to formally engage its acknowledged parent organization for possible partnership tie-ups for 2008 and beyond. CALD Secretary General Nereus Acosta remained open to possibilities of partnerships with YLDA as he reminded the YLDA officers to make the necessary steps to consolidate its position as Asia's only federation of liberal youths.

"We have done so much in the last three days of our stay in Manila," declares YLDA President Rajendra Mulmi. In addressing his colleagues at YLDA, "together, we certainly know now that we can do and accomplish so many things even in such a short span of time," he adds.

The first to leave for her own country, Indonesian Camelia Puji Astuti, representing Garda Bangsa of Indonesia, stressed that the "true measurement of the success of the Manila meeting should neither be the number of people or partners we have met nor the number of agreements or plans we have reviewed and updated but the quality of interactions we had within YLDA and with our partners."

Chee Wey Hng of Malaysia agrees. He asserts, "This Manila trip is as productive and exciting as it can ever be and we are thankful for the opportunity given to us to work as a team. We truly learned a lot about YLDA, about ourselves, and about YLDA family in the past few days."

Garda Bangsa Garda Bangsa was formed in 1998 following the successful political reform spearheaded by students and other campus activists to depose the tyrannical regime of President Suharto. The organization was founded by Abdurram Wahid, a former adviser of President Suharto who resigned following an escalation in government corruption and political management by the administration. He championed "Responsible Openness" within the government system and proposed the establishment of a Reform Committee in order to mitigate poor governance within the administration. His calls were left unheeded and so he eventually withdrew support for the government and joined the efforts advocating for reform in the government. Read more...