“The Youth Enterprise for Peace award aims to help the next generation of leaders develop youth-led enterprises for peace, cohesion and resilience. We will work with these young people to equip them with skills that they will need to make a positive contribution to their communities through social enterprises,” said Head of Society of the British Council in the Philippines, Maria Angela Flores.
The awardees are:
Marawi Tourism Social Enterprise (MTSE), Abdulrashid Dimnang. Wanting to rebuild Marawi City’s image after the siege, Dimnang formed MTSE to provide meaningful pathways for displaced and young people. Through tourism and social enterprise, MTSE hopes that the youth can create new narratives especially in the face of rising radicalisation and recruitment by extremist groups.
Sikad Pangkabuhayan, Afnan Abukhair. Through a systematic rental scheme, Abukahir’s idea is for sikad or pedicab drivers in Cotabato City to buy their own sikad. This, in turn, will help sikad drivers upgrade their livelihood and have additional income. She also hopes that this initiative will disrupt the unequal relationship between sikad driver and sikad owner.
KapitalPeace, Aldahas Kanakan. Out-of-school youth members of KapitalPeace will sell local produce through a mobile store on wheels called ‘Peace-cart’ that will ply the villages of Sultan Mastura, Maguindanao. They will purchase the produce of women and young farmers and re-sell them to communities and schools. KapitalPeace will use a portion of the income to organise women so they can participate and have a voice in local government units.
Palapa sa Lumba, Faisal Hadji Sapiin. Sapiin introduces the palapa, a Maranao delicacy, to the mainstream palate. With out-of-school youth and mothers in Lumba-Bayabao to work on and benefit from the palapa, the initiative is designed to address unemployment and raise the socio-economic condition of the community.
Cup of Hope, Norhanidah Macatoon. After witnessing the lack of institutional support for Maranaos with mental health issues, Macatoon, with her team, Aqilah, came up with the ‘Cup of Hope’. This is a mental health coffee shop and study hub where students, professionals, out-of-school youth and psychologists, among others, can go and provide mental support to those who need it.
Sailing Garden, Yasir Tahir. With mini-bancas (canoes) as the product, Tahir’s social enterprise will engage his fellow out-of-school youth and benefit the remote Sulutan Matangal community in Basilan. Sulutan Matangal has no roads, no electricity, no mobile signal and can only be reached through bancas. Proceeds from the sales will be used to build comfort rooms, and a community vegetable garden to provide families with more food source and livelihood.
During the awarding ceremony Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Minister Maisara Dandamun-Latiph noted that with CSO-SEED support, she hopes the BTA will pass a social enterprise legislation. “Social entrepreneurship is an instrument of social justice. It plays a huge role in establishing a society that responds to the needs of the people,” she said.
The YEP Award is under the CSO-SEED programme implemented by the British Council in the Philippines and co-funded by the European Union. CSO-SEED is active in the BARMM and aims to contribute to stronger civil society networks in the areas of decent work, job creation and small/medium enterprise development through social enterprise.