A scene from the final pre-National Youth Day 2017 executive meeting SHARETHEBESTZAMBO2017 FB PAGE
ZAMBOANGA City – Thousands of youth from all over the Philippines are on the way to Zamboanga to take part in the celebration of the National Youth Day (NYD) from Nov. 6 to 10, 2017.
In spite of some security issues faced by the Mindanao region, around 2,342 young pilgrims registered for the event, 175 coming from the host diocese.
“We expect the number to increase in the next few days given that the issue of Marawi has now [receded]. There were dioceses contacting us that they will be increasing or sending more delegates already,” said Mark Anthony Saavedra, NYD 2017 executive secretary during a press conference.
Things to look forward to
According to organizers, NYD 2017 Zamboanga is an NYD of “many firsts.” It is the first to launch a social media page, bar code system, and a mascot named “Yani.”
Delegates will go through pocket sessions that will tackle some of the country’s current social issues. Hosted by different families within Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs), they will stay in foster homes for 4 days.
Security issues
NYD2017 core management head, Fr. Leh Taib said the church and the local government unit of Zamboanga are helping each other in terms of tourism and over-all security. He assured everyone that they have the support of Zamboanga City mayor, Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar in making the youth event a success. “We have public safety company. We already sent through email all the security plannings we have and by Oct. 26, we will have security briefing,” he added.
NYD is a national youth gathering in the Philippines where the Church expresses her love for the young people. Angel Memorando/CBCPNews
