YLDA Secretary General Participates in IFLRY and YDA Training and General Assembly
2007-08-16

Kaye Tolentino, Deependra Chaulagi (Pres. of Youth Initiative), Boris Diettrich (Dutch MP responsible for the 1st same sex marriage legislation, Jan-Argy Tolentino, Bart Woord (IFLRY Secretary General)

Young Liberals and Democrats of Asia (YLDA) Secretary General Jan-Argy Tolentino attended the 2007 Young Democrats of America National Convention in Dallas, Texas, United States of America from July 18 to 22 where he also delivered a short presentation on Gender Rights in one of the discussion forums organized by the International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY).

Mr. Tolentino together with Filipino and fellow Kabataang Liberal ng Pilipinas (KALIPI) delegates Eric Caliboso and Kaye Tolentino attended the event as a special guest of IFLRY, which held seminars under the theme of "Liberal Challenges in the 21st Century." Mr. Tolentino addressed the IFLRY Extraordinary General Assembly and Executive Committee General Assembly in his capacity as YLDA Secretary General and was elected as one of the five chairpersons of the General Assembly --- the same assembly that officially accepted the Young Democrats of America as a voting member of the world's largest liberal youth organization.

As the official youth arm of the Democratic Party, the Young Democrats of America (YDA) is the largest youth-led, national, partisan political organization of the party. Speaking before the participants during the gathering are international leaders known for their democratic values such as Democratic Party luminaries like Senator John Edwards, who addressed the delegates during the closing ceremony by stating that the claim young voters in America are politically apathetic is nothing but "a great lie."

On top of the IFLRY-organized sessions on issues and challenges on liberalism, participants were also given the freedom to join some of the training sessions by sponsored by the YDA. Philippine representative and YLDA Secretary General Jan Argy Tolentino contributed in the session on Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender (GLBT) by focusing on how GLBT rights in the Philippines have progressed within the context of predominantly Catholic tradition and culture.

Jan-Argy Tolentino presiding over the GA session of IFLRY with Gen. Wesley Clark speaking before the GA...

In evaluating the series of events, Jacob Rasmussen, President of IFLRY declares "this is the first time ever that the International Federation of Liberal Youth has held such a big event in the USA and we are especially happy that it happened in Dallas, Texas." By fusing IFLRY and YDA activities, YDA President Chris Gallaway saw the delegates from across the United States engaging "partners from around the world in politics and strengthening international relationships based on democratic and liberal values for generations to come."

For his part, YLDA Secretary Jan Argy Tolentino is very enthusiastic about IFLRY getting stronger outside Europe. "This development is very encouraging as IFLRY and regional organizations like YLDA are becoming more influential in inspiring youths to be more politically active in North America, Latin America, Asia and Africa," adds Mr. Tolentino.

Garda Bangsa Garda Bangsa was formed in 1998 following the successful political reform spearheaded by students and other campus activists to depose the tyrannical regime of President Suharto. The organization was founded by Abdurram Wahid, a former adviser of President Suharto who resigned following an escalation in government corruption and political management by the administration. He championed "Responsible Openness" within the government system and proposed the establishment of a Reform Committee in order to mitigate poor governance within the administration. His calls were left unheeded and so he eventually withdrew support for the government and joined the efforts advocating for reform in the government. Read more...