Ship for the Southeast Asian Youth Program (SSEAYP)

The National Youth Commission (NYC) announces the opening of application for this year's Ship for the Southeast Asian Youth Program (SSEAYP).

NYC Commissioner Benjie Oliva, said SSEAYP is an annual cultural youth exchange program sponsored by the cabinet office of Japan and participated in by 340 participants consisting 40 people from Japan and 300 from ten ASEAN member countries (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam ).

The delegates will live together on board a luxury cruise ship named Nippon Maru for about 50 days and visit the participating countries. Activities on board include discussions, cultural introductions, sports, recreation, club activities, etc. The activities in the countries visited include exchange with the local youth, home stay, visit to various facilities and volunteer activities.

The program started in 1974 based on a joint statement issued in the same year by Japan and Southeast Asian countries. In addition, Brunei Darussalam joined in 1985, Vit Nam in 1996, Lao and Myanmar in 1998 and Cambodia in 2000, Oliva added.

In the Philippines, the program is carried out by the National Youth Commission. NYC in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Tourism and Civil Service Commission served as the selection panel in choosing the 28 youth delegation in the country.

Interested SSEAYP applicants must have the following qualifications, to wit; must be Filipino citizen, single, must be between 18-30 years old as of April 1, 2008, of good moral character, physically and mentally fit to travel, must be residing, working or studying in the region to be represented for at least two (2) years immediately preceding from the date of application, preferably a first time international traveler and or must not have been a grantee or recipient of any NYC funded international travel or Japanese Government grant, strong background on Philippine history, geography and culture and the arts, knowledgeable of the current issues in the Philippines, Japan and ASEAN countries, must have serve the youth sector as active officer or member of a youth or youth serving organizations for at least two (2) years immediately preceding from the date of application, must be willing to be an NYC volunteer and must be willing to take a leave of absence from school or work and complete all trainings and activities before, during and after the program.

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