The voice of leadership

(Today’s column)

I don’t like attending events organized by PR people specifically to get media and bloggers to create a buzz for a product. It’s too contrived, it’s too unimaginative, it’s too desperate. And too exploitative on the part of the people expected to do the writing. But there are times when an event is organized not to focus on a product nor to create a buzz about the company on whose behalf the event was organized but to highlight a genuinely worthy endeavor. Those are times when I do bother leaving the quiet confines of my home in the boondocks and venturing to the concrete jungle that I rarely miss.

Last week, I went to the culminating activity of “Voice of Leadership,” a project that brought together student leaders from all over Metro Manila. On that final day of the project, 12 students competed in an elocution contest, delivering pieces that they personally prepared, about their perspectives on leadership and how we are all leaders and potential leaders who can affect people and events that touch our lives.

I must admit my bias. As a high school student, I was one of those who were frequently excused from classes so I could prepare, train and practice for speech contests. And I thrived on it. I cannot underestimate the power of public speaking in building a young student’s self-confidence. You stand there on the stage, knowing that all eyes and ears are on you, and you know that you have to deliver—not only in terms of speaking skills but, more importantly, in imparting a message that will long be remembered after the medals have been awarded. It’s one of those moments when you know that the lyrics of the song “Bless the beasts and the children” is not always true. In this world, everyone has a voice and every voice can be heard. We just have to find an effective occasion and venue for delivering our message.

But “Voice of leadership” was more than a speech and elocution contest. It’s a complete program aimed at honing skills and building self-confidence of high school students with the hope that they would somehow rub off on their peers, create a viral effect and encourage, consciously or subconsiously, more young people to think hard about their role in their schools, communities and society, take a stand and make their voices heard.

It all began last year when Volvo Philippines, the project organizer, sent invitations to schools encouraging them to send their cream of the crop to participate in what was envisioned to be a life-changing experience. The qualifications for joining were stringent. A student must be recognized leader in his school, belong to the top 25 percent of his class and must not have violated his school’s ethical standards. Then, he must personally research and write an eight-minute speech. Those who initially qualified attended a two-day camp on leadership, speech writing and elocution skills. Intra-school contests were held, winners were picked and these winners were pitted against each other on that Gala Night that I attended last week.

It wasn’t difficult for me to pick the winners. Some speakers just stand out. Three of the four I chose landed the first, second and third places although not in the order I was hoping for. John Xavier Valdez from Ateneo de Manila High School garnered the grand prize, Regina Isabelle Jaimee Ranada of Miriam College was the first runner-up and Christian Earl Castañeda of La Salle Greenhills was the second runner-up. The judges apparently had a more difficult time. Chris Tiu, the evening’s host, had to ad lib his way through the lull, quite competently I must say, while the judges debated.

The Gala Night itself was conducted in good taste. There was a short background presentation on the organizer, Volvo Philippines, and a short welcome note from its president and CEO Atty. Alberto B. Arcilla. But that was about the extent of the focus and exposure for Volvo Philippines that night. Voice of Leadership was for and about students and the spotlight was on the contestants and their speeches. It was heart-warming to note that the students were NOT required to mention the organizer nor its product in their speeches. No sleazy gimmicks like that. A far cry, indeed, from a Web log contest organized by bloggers where contestants were required to put up links on their sites that pointed to the sponsors’ Web sites. A far cry too from beauty contests where special awards bearing the product name of a sponsor are handed out.

I had a chat with Atty. Arcilla during the cocktails that preceded the program and he mentioned the plan to expand the coverage of the project next year to include more schools from a wider geographic area. What I forgot to ask was whether the schools originally invited to the first Voice of Leadership were carefully chosen or whether an open invitation was sent to all schools in Metro Manila. See, there was this obvious absence of representation from local high schools. UP Integrated School was the only public high school represented that night and I wondered whether it was the only public high school invited to join or whether it was the only public high school that responded to the invitation.

I hope that, next year, if more public high schools receive an invitation to participate, they actually do so. A leader, after all, is not defined by the school he attends. In the words of the Grand Prize winner Christian Earl Castañeda John Xavier Valdez, leadership is “something that transcends age, class, social distinction, gender…” Wouldn’t it be fitting to see that very philosophy reflected in the Voice of Leadership?