Binod Gautam of Community Self-Reliance Centre Nepal was a participant of the ILC Asia Leadership Programme back in March 2019 in the Philippines. In this blog, he shares with us the importance of youth leadership in claiming land rights in his community.
In March 2019, I had the pleasure of attending the Leadership Development training in the Philippines with 20 other participants from 10 different countries.
The main objective of the training was to strengthen the capacities of participants that will help empower their respective organizations, ensure good governance and promote organizational sustainability. The end goal though is to broaden our impact in promoting land and human rights in each of our respective localities, countries and especially in the Asia region.
Our first session was with Mr. Arsenio Garcia, who delivered training on “Authentic Humanism” and its relationship to leadership development. He described the relationship everyone needs to have with themselves in order to have better relationships with others, but more importantly, he spoke about how strong relationships are key to being a great leader. During the session Mr. Garcia also introduced the 7 habits and tools to be a better, more organized leader:
- Be proactive: A good leader is proactive rather than reactive. When a person commits mistake a good leader easily accepts and provides him/her positive comments to improve his/her quality.
- Have the end in mind: A good leader also focuses on the result. He/she always knows what the result of the activities will be before starting any plans. When a person is not adamant in his previous commitment and plan, he/she cannot motivate others to achieve the targeted goal or plan.
- First things first: We must prioritize our work. Many organizations invite a leader to attend multiple meetings and events but it is his/her duty to list down the task from top to bottom. It is not necessary to perform all events or activities by a single person. By prioritizing our tasks, then as a team we can reach the targeted goal.
- Think win-win A good leader always believes in the win-win principle. Unhealthy competition could lead to unhealthy outcomes. Good leaders want to let other people win if it would benefit society.
- Synergize: Synergize refers to the relationship of a human being to other people. A good leader should have a good relationship and synergy with other people. He/she only performs his/her works after the consultation of other people.
- Sharpen the saw: The main lesson of this habit is to keep updating. A good leader should update what is going on nationally and internationally. He/she always focus on new issues and follow the emerging trends of these new issues.
- Anyone can be a good leader: Women, men, people from different ethnic groups, from the LGBTI community can be a good leader, and we can’t forget that.
The importance of leadership in retaining land rights
During the organizational leadership part of the training, we were taken to different communities of Casiguran in the north-west side of the Philippines where community leaders shared how they achieved their rights over their land. The most important lesson the leaders shared was about how every movement can be successful when there is full dedication, hard work, unity and full commitment of leaders.
Every leader has certain roles and responsibilities in his/her organization, and we need good leaders to protect our environment and surroundings. Without protection, trees, animals, water, sea, and other natural resources there is no existence of human beings in the world.
We finished off the training discussing the relationship of good leadership in achieving agrarian reform and how it relates back to the initiatives of ILC. The video documentary, case study presentation and field visit helped to relate the theory of training into practice.
I will have to say it was one of the important and useful training that I have ever participated. It strengthened our capacities and I am confident to say that it will make us stronger leaders of tomorrow.