12/07/2026
๐๐๐โ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ซ๐ง๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐ง๐ง๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ก๐๐๐ญ๐ซ๐ ๐
๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฅ โ ๐๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐๐ฒ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐๐๐
Communities become stronger when their leaders are given opportunities to learn, collaborate, and bring home new ideas that create lasting impact.
This belief was reaffirmed as Vernon Kenny Jimera, Executive Director of Arts Initiative Zamboanga from Zamboanga City, was among the representatives from the Philippines who participated in the Asian Youth Theatre Festival (AYTF) โ Uniting Asia Residency Programme 2026. The international residency brought together 20 theater practitioners, performing artists, educators, and community leaders from Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Singapore to foster collaboration, cultural exchange, and empower creative advocacy across Asia.
Hosted by YATTA (Youth Advocates Through Theater Arts) in Valencia, Negros Oriental, in partnership with Buds Theatre of Singapore, this year's residency embraced the theme "Looking Back. Moving Forward."
For Arts Initiative Zamboanga, Vernon's participation represents an investment in the organization's long-term capacity to serve communities through the arts.
Throughout the five-day residency, participants immersed themselves in a learning environment that combined cultural exchange with practical approaches to community-engaged theater. Workshops explored values-based leadership, advocacy writing, voice and movement, Philippine theater history, traditional performance practices, and strategies for sustaining community theater organizations. Participants also experienced cultural immersion across Dumaguete and Valencia, strengthening their understanding of how local heritage, identity, and community participation shape creative practice.
Equally valuable were the conversations that took place beyond the workshops.
Artists from seven Asian countries shared the realities they face in their respective communities, from creating safe spaces for young people to preserving cultural traditions, promoting inclusion, and using the performing arts to respond to social change. These exchanges fostered relationships that extend beyond the residency itself, laying the groundwork for future collaboration across Southeast Asia.
For Vernon, these conversations reinforced a shared understanding that while communities face different challenges, the arts remain a powerful tool for dialogue, empathy, healing, and collective action.
The residency concluded with a collaboratively devised performance inspired by the programme's theme. Combining voice, movement, advocacy writing, and traditional cultural elements, the performance symbolized the participants' shared journey across diverse cultures while affirming the values that guide them as artists and community leaders. Using the malong as a central visual metaphor, the performance reflected resilience, interconnectedness, and the collective pursuit of a more hopeful future.
Reflecting on the residency, Vernon shared:
โ๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐ ๐ก๐ค๐ซ๐๐ ๐ข๐ค๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐ง๐๐จ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐จ๐จ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐ง๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข ๐๐๐ง๐ค๐จ๐จ ๐ผ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ค๐ง๐๐๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฎ ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ก๐ค๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ง๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ง๐ข ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐ฉ๐จ ๐ช๐จ ๐๐ก๐ก. ๐ฟ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ก๐๐ฃ๐๐ช๐๐๐๐จ, ๐๐ช๐ก๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐๐จ, ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐๐จ, ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ข๐ข๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ค๐ช๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง.
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฃ๐๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ค๐ข๐, ๐ ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ค๐ฃ๐ก๐ฎ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐๐๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐ฎ, ๐๐ช๐ฉ ๐๐ก๐จ๐ค ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐๐๐ง๐ฉ๐จ. ๐๐ค๐๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ง, ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ซ๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ง๐๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐๐จ, ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ฉ๐ง๐ช๐ฉ๐๐จ, ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ค๐ง๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ง๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐ ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ง. ๐๐ฉ ๐ง๐๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐จ ๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ง๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ง๐ข; ๐๐ฉ ๐๐จ ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ฃ๐๐ช๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐จ ๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ค๐๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐จ ๐ช๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ช๐ ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ฃ, ๐ฌ๐๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ง๐.โ
The insights, methodologies, and regional perspectives gained will directly strengthen Arts Initiative Zamboanga's community programs across Mindanao. These learnings will be integrated into theater workshops, youth leadership initiatives, advocacy campaigns, and community performances that engage young people, persons with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ communities, educators, and grassroots organizations.
As Arts Initiative Zamboanga continues to grow, experiences like the AYTF Uniting Asia Residency Programme demonstrate why investing in people is ultimately an investment in communities. Every opportunity for artists and community leaders to learn, connect, and collaborate creates a ripple effect by strengthening organizations, empowering local leaders, and expanding access to creative spaces where dialogue, inclusion, and civic participation can thrive.
