AYLC @ 15

"I Love you all!"

Those were the endearing words of Don Jaime Zobel de Ayala as he adressed hundreds of alumni of the Ayala Young Leaders Congress (AYLC) during the celebration of its 15th year of existence. The event,happening every 5 years,aimed to gather all the congress participants from 1999 to 2013. It was held at the newly constructed The Circuit at Sta. Ana, Makati last February 9 2012.

The AYLC is an annual leadership congress which gathers the top youth leaders in the country in a 4 to 5 day leadership bootcamp. According to the congress' website

The AYLC is a concrete expression of the Ayala Group’s commitment to national development. It is the keystone of “Shaping Tomorrow’s Leaders”, the youth leadership development program launched in 1998 by the Ayala group of companies as a strategic investment in the youth, and ultimately, in the future of the country. Ayala’s dream is to nurture a community and form a network of values-based and principled Filipino leaders committed passionately to nation building and to uplifting the lives of their fellow Filipinos

Over the years, the AYLC have produced youth leaders who have made significant contribution to various field such as the arts and culture, medicine,peace education, politics, business and even youth leadership development. The participants come from different religious, geographical and ethnic background and in the span of four days they are encouraged to showcase these differences with the aim of building networks and honing their passion for nation-building.

Simon Mossesgeld with author.

The program started with a video of the different congress over the years with excerpts from the past congress speakers. It then went on to a meet and greet portion where alumni from different batches were grouped together to share their most memorable part of the congress and how AYLC influenced their lives.

One of the reunion's unique event is the Starfish Fair which featured 10 different alumni initiated projects fro leadership camps, to issue based advocacies and arts and culture projects. The alumni were encouraged to volunteer, sponsor or network with these projects.

The event continued with speeches from different AYALA Executives including Ayala's Chairman  Emeritus Don Jaime Zobel de Ayala, the new president of the Ayala Foundation, Maria Lourdes Heras- De Leon, AYLC Program Director JP Orbeta and the Congress Adviser Simon MOssessgeld. The first half of the event concluded with the blessing of the alumni and alumnae and by singing the congress' theme song written by one of its alumnae.

The second half which was more informal, featured different production numbers and parlor games and of course...dancing!

The next grand reunion will be celebrated on 2018 with AYLC celebrating its 20 years.