I-YES Camp Mindanao 2024: Indigenous youth step up for culture and forests

On August 23–26, 2024, Higaonon and partner indigenous youth from the Kimangkil–Kalanawan–Sumagaya–Pamalihi landscape gathered at IP Village, Sitio Eva, Brgy. Samay, Balingasag for I-YES Camp Mindanao 2024. The four-day camp created space for intergenerational learning, practical conservation, and youth leadership—anchored in Higaonon culture and care for ancestral domains.

Elders opened the camp with a ritual and stories on identity, values, and traditional leadership. Youth groups then shared updates from their CADTs—issues they face, wins they’ve earned, and the roles they already play in safeguarding land, language, and lifeways.

Agencies and allies provided inputs: the AFP 58th IB on environmental stewardship and trust-building, the PNP on youth protection and the law, and NTFP-EP Philippines on nature-based solutions (NbS) and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA), connecting culture-rooted practices to climate action on the ground.

Preparing the Youth

The camp strengthens Indigenous Political Structures and IPOs by preparing youth to participate in decision-making today, not “someday.” Passing down IKSP (indigenous knowledge, systems, and practices) alongside concrete skills for climate action links culture and conservation: elders transmit the why; youth carry the how.

This is vital for keeping forests standing in Mindanao, where ancestral domains are the frontlines of biodiversity protection and climate resilience.

Key outcomes

• Clearer youth roles within CADT-level organizing and community activities.

• Shared understanding of NbS/EbA aligned with Higaonon values and forest governance.

• Drafted action points toward implementing the Diliman Declaration through UGNAYIN and local youth orgs.

• Commitments to cultural transmission (language, ritual, dance) and on-ground conservation (tree-planting, landscape monitoring).

• GLA-supported follow-through with NTFP-EP Philippines for mentorship, documentation, and linking youth initiatives to advocacy and policy arenas.

Participating youth included Pamalihi CADT Inc. Youth, MACILAGNON (MAMACILA), MISHTRIOR, MAHITRIGA, HAMOG/AGMIHICU, TAKASAMA-Kawalisan, and the Ugnayin National Indigenous Youth Network Philippines (UGNAYIN PH).

The camp was convened with support from the Forest Foundation Philippines (FFP) and Green Livelihoods Alliance (GLA) - Forests for a Just Future, which advances rights-based forest governance and community-led conservation.

Through GLA, NTFP-EP Philippines links local youth action to broader advocacy and policy spaces, ensuring that indigenous perspectives guide decisions affecting forests and ancestral domains. Working with IPS/IPO leaders and community hosts, NTFP-EP PH supported the camp’s convening and facilitation; led sessions on NbS/EbA and youth participation in forest governance; and documented lessons to feed back into ongoing mentorship with local youth organizations and UGNAYIN PH. The focus: culture-first, youth-forward conservation inside ancestral domains.