By Glaiza Salanio

On Saturday, May 11, the Kamalayan at Tinig ng Atenista (KaTA) conducted this year’s Serye Kabataan, a youth congress that featured inter-student talks, guest speaker seminars, and workshops to hone students’ leadership skills and civic action, at the second floor of the Formation Learning Center.

Various organizations from Ateneo Junior High School (AJHS) and Ateneo Senior High School (ASHS), such as AJHS Lakapati, ASHS Sandigan Mayari, AJHS Debate, ASHS Model United Nations, AJHS Ateneo Scouting Movement, ASHS Hi-Lites, AJHS Music Industry, ASHS Teatro Baguntao, and ASHS Sandigan Alunsina, prepared inter-student talks and workshops for this event.

Mrs. Mona Magno-Veluz (also known as Mighty Magulang), the National Spokesperson of the Autism Society Philippines, and Mr. Isaiah Crisanto, the founding Chairperson of the University of the Philippines Open University Student Council, also imparted lessons to the participants as guest speakers.

“Nais nitong imulat ang kabataan sa realidad ng kanilang lipunang ginagalawan, gawin silang malay sa mga isyung panlipunan, at udyukin silang makisangkot para sa pagsusulong ng pagbabago sa bansa,” KaTA Educations Committee Vice President John Wyne Caliguiran said.

Participants came from ASHS, AJHS, Philippine Science High School, UP Integrated School, and Parang High School (PHS).

Social awareness

With engaging activities, students were able to develop their social awareness and enhance their interpersonal skills.

“I have been able to understand our problems at least more properly and more clearly, and it made me realize just how messed up life really is and how we can make it somewhat better,” Rainier Kenn Regajal from PHS expressed.

As the official school publication of the ASHS, Hi-Lites is one of the organizations that conducted an inter-student talk.

The organization discussed their work as student journalists as well as topics about misinformation, malinformation, and disinformation.

“As a student, it really contributes to my social awareness because it helps me see the recent events here. It helps me understand it more and to avoid the wrong or false things that they are spreading on the internet,” Calix Alexandre Ng Sy from AJHS stated.

“I also learned that there is really a lot of misinformation on the internet, and it can be misleading to many people,” he concluded.