I-YES Camp 2026: Indigenous Youth Bring the Diliman Declaration from Communities to Congress

From May 18–22, 2026, 17 Indigenous youth leaders from Sierra Madre, Palawan, Occidental Mindoro, Negros Occidental and Mindanao gathered in Quezon City for I-YES Camp 2026.

Organized by the Ugnayin National Indigenous Youth Network Philippines (UGNAYIN PH) with support from NTFP-EP Philippines (Non-Timber Forest Products-Exchange Programme), the camp marked an important shift from strengthening the network internally to bringing the Diliman Declaration into national policy spaces.

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Years of gathering, learning and organizing

UGNAYIN PH was formally formed in 2022 by 20 Indigenous youth leaders from Sierra Madre, Palawan, Visayas and Mindanao. However, its roots stretch back through years of Indigenous youth gatherings supported by NTFP-EP Philippines.

From youth camps in Palawan in 2017–2018 and the National ICCA Youth Camp in 2019, to the 2021 e-camp, the formation of UGNAYIN PH in 2022, and succeeding I-YES Camps, these gatherings gradually created spaces for youth to learn about forests and ancestral domains, exchange cultures and community realities, strengthen leadership, and organize across landscapes.

In 2023, 18 Indigenous youth from 12 Indigenous communities took another step: they developed and signed the Diliman Declaration, bringing together their shared realities and calls under five interconnected areas – rights, culture, environment, education and livelihood, and health.

READ THE DILIMAN DECLARATION:

UGNAYIN PH Diliman Declaration.pdf

Download PDF • 2.42MB

The Declaration is significant because it gives Indigenous youth from various different communities a shared national agenda. It connects their everyday realities, from threats to ancestral lands and disappearing languages to limited participation and access to education, with concrete calls for government recognition, stronger Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices, meaningful youth participation, environmental protection and rights-based policies.

By 2026, the next step was clear, and it was to bring that youth agenda to decision-makers.

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Before the camp formally opened, UGNAYIN PH’s Board of Trustees spent two days preparing for government engagement on May 18-19. They refined their Diliman Declaration presentation, reviewed letters to government agencies, studied a Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) memorandum on local participation, practiced their presentation, and adopted resolutions strengthening the network’s governance and accreditation processes.

During the camp, participants revisited the five issues at the heart of the Declaration: rights, culture, environment, education and livelihood, and health. They also reviewed security protocols before entering public advocacy spaces.

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The youth then brought their calls to the House of Representatives the next day, May 20, where they met Committee Secretary Adora Pueblo and Congressman Mauricio Domogan, Chair of the House Committee on Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples.

They shared concerns around Indigenous youth participation, ancestral lands, culture, education and environmental protection, and later during the day, observed a plenary session. For many of these young people, it was their first direct experience of Congress.

As Lyn Gie Barato of Balicotoc Indigenous Youth Organization (BIYO) reflected, “We need to be proud of ourselves bilang IP.”

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That evening, songs, dances, poetry and cultural sharing brought the different landscapes together, grounding the advocacy work in identity, community and solidarity.

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On the following day (May 21) back at the camp, youth deepened their skills in lobbying, negotiation and stakeholder power analysis. From this, they learned how to turn community realities into concrete and actionable advocacy goals. At the same time, youth were able to identify the people and institutions that could help move those concerns forward.

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One of the camp’s strongest outcomes emerged during a dialogue with the National Youth Commission (NYC) led by Chairperson and CEO Usec. Jeff Ortega.

The conversation opened several possible partnership directions: convergence with YORP-registered Indigenous youth organizations, UGNAYIN PH representation in NYC external task force meetings, a future Memorandum of Agreement, access to NYC Studios and meeting venues, capacity-building and mental health support, and possible mechanisms for supporting Indigenous youth initiatives through resolutions and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) funding channels.

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This year’s camp also strengthened UGNAYIN PH itself. PAMALIHI CADT Inc. was recognized as a new member organization, member groups began preparing local lobbying plans, and UGNAYAN Talks moved forward as another platform for Indigenous youth stories and advocacy to be told.

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More than a national gathering, I-YES Camp 2026 became a bridge. From years of youth organizing to national advocacy, from declaration to dialogue, and from community realities to clearer pathways for participation.

The work now is to keep those pathways open.

The I-YES Camp 2026 was co-organized by UGNAYIN PH with support from NTFP-EP Philippines and made possible through funding support from Synchronicity Earth.