To professionalize youth development work in the country, the Ateneo de Zamboanga University (AdZU) is offering the Master of Arts in Governance and Development major in Youth Development Work (MAGD-YDW), the first of its kind in the Philippines.
Launched this morning, February 17, 2020, the 45-unit MAGD-YDW program which will start classes next month following a trimestral schedule, aims to standardize youth development work in the country, by equipping students with a solid foundation on the principles and concepts of youth development, and a complete grasp of the research discipline especially designed for youth development.
Students will also be taught management theories, how to apply them in analyzing challenges in youth organizing, and in assessing youth policy and programs in the Philippines.
AdZU President Fr Karel San Juan, SJ, says that with the MAGD-YDW under the University’s School of Accountancy and Management (SMA), the University hopes to contribute to the data on youth development in the country through the studies to be conducted, to serve as useful and relevant related literature to workers involved in youth organizing and advocacy.
Also integrated in the program, to be run by AdZU Assistant to the President for Social Development John Mayo Enriquez and AdZU SMA Dean Maynard Bagtasos, with support from UNICEF, and its partner financial institution, ING, and the National Youth Commission (NYC), are teachings on Ignatian values of service to God and country, which comprise a vital part of an Ateneo education.
The pioneering batch of the MAGD-YDW consists of 20 students from NYC and local youth development officers, who are expected to complete the course in March 2022.
Aside from AdZU officials, also present during the launching were NYC Commissioner-at-Large James Ceasar Ventura, NYC Chairman and CEO Ryan R Enriquez; and UNICEF-Philippines officials and personnel.
