Ideas Positive

Mikee works for Unilab Foundation, a Filipino NGO which was founded in 2010. He manages various youth initiatives, two of which are Ideas Positive and Heads Up PH. 

After attending the One Young World in The Hague he helped to establish the Positive Youth Development Network and now serves as its Director of Communications and Partnerships. The organisation has embedded youth engagement as a core focus for development in the Philippines. This project sought to develop and harness the expertise of young leaders in the Philippines nationwide.

Ideas Positive runs an annual bootcamp to co-develop and accelerate innovative ideas from all 17 regions in the Philippines. Selection criteria varies from year to year, from LGBT rights to environment. The chosen teams in 2019 are addressing healthcare challenges in their local communities, and receiving two months of training before returning home for a six months implementation period in their respective communities. 
Since inception, the project has supported 108 youth-led projects across 228 communities, and in turn developed the capacity of 438 young Filipino leaders. Ideas Positive as a programme has engaged over 75,000 young leaders in volunteering efforts across a variety of projects which have impacted over 2.4 million people.

Mikee is also the leading figure behind #YouthCan forum, a three-day event for young leaders. Approximately 2,500 young leaders attended in 2019, a significant growth since 150 attending the inaugural event four years prior. 

The forum was run by a group of 20 ‘Ideas Positive’ alumni, and included 14 short courses to develop the theoretical and practical skills of attendees. One such class was run by Emmanuele Marie Parra in her capacity as One Young World’s Coordinating Ambassador for the region, to teach them how to create global impact with local solutions.