CYPA Goes Digital

“Even though there are setbacks after setbacks and we are still hoping for improvements to the COVID-19 situation, there is light in this darkness. We have an opportunity to innovate, create and restore a more sustainable world… In this year’s CYPA, we continue to contribute to the course of liberalism and democracy and continue to create meaningful and lasting connections among the participants.”

In these words, Siripa Nan Intavichein, CALD Youth Chairperson, welcomed the participants to the CALD Youth Political Academy (CYPA) where 30 youth leaders from 11 countries in Asia immersed themselves in political training for four weekends. Held via ZOOM, this 11-day training also aimed to reinforce youth participation in politics and maximize their involvement in democratic processes through a CALD Youth Political Module.

Basics of Liberalism

Learning should be fun according to course designers Wasin Punthong and Mary Pimrapaat. This is why Tier 1, Basics of Liberalism, introduced Gamification and Game-Based Learning. “Gamification enhances civic engagement. Using these kinds of games develops a player’s civic skills and improves their decision-making skills,” explained Dr. Theerapat Ungsuchaval, Lecturer at Mahidol University in Thailand.

Miklos Romandy, Regional Program Manager of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) For Freedom Regional Office briefly introduced Liberalism to the participants. Afterward, they used Sim Democracy as an innovative and interactive board game to help the participants enhance their understandings and perspectives on liberal democracy. Players are expected to be active citizens who plan, coordinate and execute proposed policies. Active engagement and negotiation between players are to be done throughout the game. “Teaching democracy, institutions, public policy, and the role of the state, are highly abstract topics and it’s difficult to make it interesting and simpler to understand but we were able to make it an element of Sim Democracy,” shared Dr. Rainer Adam during his discussion on the making of the board game.

Tier 1 ended with Thai Politician Parit Wacharasindhu’s reflective talk on “Why So Democracy.” With the rise of illiberal democracy, Parit discussed how young leaders could contribute to revitalizing liberalism even in the digital era. “Online space is not bound by national borders, so there is more exchange of ideas between pro-democracy groups in each country now. COVID-19 can’t stop us from exercising our rights and civil liberties because the online space is always a place where the government can’t control.”

Civil and Political Engagement

While political literacy and academic approaches to global and local political issues remain important, there is a growing sense of passive consumption of information. Course designers, Marcin Jerzewski and Maxwell Wappel from Taiwan NextGen Foundation wanted to use this second-tier training to encourage discussion, organization, and action to promote and invigorate new voices. Through its invited speakers: NextGen CEO Kuan-Ting Chen, FNF Taiwan Head Anna Marti, and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Lienchiang County Chapter Director Lii Wen, they discussed the importance of civic participation and linking technology to civic and political participation. “Democracy relies on civil engagement for its legitimacy and its efficiency… People are at the center of democracy and it is also the people who must protect it,” stressed Anna.

During the 2-day session, the participants also played a game, PolitiCraft – a narrative-based action card game that showcases the different levels of civic engagement. The players choose an issue they would like to address and apply civic virtues and democratic principles when working to solve it. The course designers also integrated theatre and arts into the programme by inviting Theatre performer, Liam Fanning. According to Marcin, “I believe that the arts and humanities are important in fostering people-to-people connection which is the very core of any political initiative.”

Progressive Leadership

Progressive leadership begins with a progressive leader – which was the focus of Tier 3. The 3-day training sessions aimed to discuss the different aspects of leadership and elevate it to progressive leadership. This tier also stressed the importance of networking and how to create progressive leader thinkers. “Your principles and values should be of primordial concern and you should not lose sight of these… Expanding your network is essential for you as a progressive young leader because politics follow one very simple principle – politics is an addition, not subtraction,” said CALD Executive Director Celito Arlegue.

Anew Founder Marike Groenewald also facilitated a session in Tier 3 where she discussed the importance of organizational culture in progressive leadership. “Determine what behaviors and beliefs you value as an organization and have everyone live true to them. These behaviors and beliefs should be essential to your core.” Liberal Party of the Philippines Director-General Jason Gonzales also echoed Marike’s sentiments in his session. According to Jason, shared values become a shared vision and a shared vision can become a shared purpose. And these can change the trajectory of nations.

The participants were also able to gain and practice their progressive leadership skills on the game, Nexus of Civilization, which was developed by course designers Jobelle Domingo, Jiggy Calucag, and Audrie Frias.

Strategic Communications

Spearheaded by the course designer, Raul Cordenillo, the last tier showed how communications can be utilized as an effective instrument for politics and advocacy. Taking the form of another role-playing game, participants are assigned to organizations where they address challenges by presenting communications plans, as well as employing communications tools and techniques. Ashley Liao from DPP found these simulation games fun and useful. “This was a great practice for us to brainstorm and to think out of the box. Everyone was able to contribute their given skills and specializations which is important when dealing with a crisis.”

Linda Ou also expressed her gratitude for being able to participate in this year’s CYPA. “You have given each of us plenty of opportunities to share our personal experiences. I enjoyed meeting other youths worldwide and was intrigued by the wealth of experiences they have shared. I am grateful to all the speakers; they have shared and provided us insights to prepare us to be better political participants, communicators, and leaders.”

CYPA was envisioned to be a platform where the participants can create meaningful connections. In his closing remarks, CALD Youth Secretary-General Jeremiah Tomas hoped that everyone will stay connected because the individuals that you’ve connected in the training, will be your allies tomorrow.

“Seeing all of you guys today has given me much hope knowing that moving into the future – I am not alone. All of you are not alone. There are multitudes of us, young leaders in different corners of Asia, in the world, doing their part in the constant fight for Liberalism and Democracy. And with that realization, you can draw strength, inspiration, and action from one another.”

CYPA, which took place on 18-20, & 24-25 June and 2-4, & 8-10 July, was in collaboration with the Liberal Youth of the Philippines, Taiwan NextGen Foundation, and with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) For Freedom.