The VoiceMaster Returns to Passi for the Young Leaders’ Bootcamp

The Passi Young Leaders’ Bootcamp 2018 was held on December 7-9, 2018 at the Passi 1 Central School in Passi City, Iloilo. This annual leadership camp is organized by Highlight the Impact, Forward Youth Volunteers Inc., or more popularly known as HIGH FYV. Dozens of young leaders from the province came together to learn and enhance their leadership skills in this 3-day event, with the theme “Igniting the Greatness Within.”

Filipino motivational speaker Pocholo “The VoiceMaster” Gonzales is one of the guest speakers of the event. He was the keynote speaker on the first night of the camp, when the ASEAN Heritage Night was held. It was an evening of awareness and appreciation for ASEAN integration, and what it means to the youth. The participants donned their best ASEAN costume, and were treated to a number of presentation to showcase the ASEAN.

In his presentation, Pocholo spoke about his involvement in international youth programs from which he was able to widen his perspective about the world. Pocholo shared how his story as a youth advocate began, as a delegate to the Ship for Southeast Asia Youth Programme or SSEAYP in the year 2000. He went on to share what he learned from exposing himself to other ASEAN youth, and how these programs have inspired him to found his own youth organization Voice of the Youth Network.

Pocholo spoke about National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal, whom he considers to be the epitome of Filipino greatness and excellence. Pocholo talked about the stories of Rizal’s travels and why he believed those greatly shaped Rizal’s achievements despite his short life. He challenged the participants to embrace the ideals of being Filipino while being open to being a “global citizen.”

Pocholo conducted leadership training on the second day of the camp, where he taught the participants valuable leadership skills such as communication and public speaking.