SU student among ASEAN delegates to youth workshop on academic freedom

Dan Kristian N. Rivera, a master’s student in Peace Studies under the Religion and Peace Studies Department’s graduate program at Silliman University, has been selected to participate in the Youth Rising Workshop organized by the SEA Coalition for Academic Freedom (SEACAF).

The fully funded workshop to be held on October 31 to November 1, 2025 at Mahidol University, Salaya Campus in Thailand gathers 15 youth delegates from across Southeast Asia for an intensive, creative exchange focused on art-making, storytelling, dialogue, and content creation promoting human rights and academic freedom.

The Youth Rising initiative is envisioned as a nexus of academic and artistic freedom among young people. It brings together students, young scholars, and artists to explore how imagination and critical inquiry can confront repression and inspire collective action in academic spaces. Through participatory dialogue and creative sessions, the workshop seeks to reclaim campuses and classrooms as spaces of freedom, amplifying youth voices in the broader struggle for rights, democracy, and social justice in Southeast Asia.

Rivera, one of the 15 selected participants, expressed enthusiasm about representing the Philippines in this regional platform. He shared that his participation aligns with his advocacy of fostering safe spaces for open and critical conversations through writing and debating in his hometown, Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur.

Rivera is no stranger to youth leadership and civic engagement. He completed the YSEALI Academic Fellowship Program at the University of Nebraska at Omaha in October 2024, which is a fully funded academic exchange under the U.S. State Department’s ASEAN program.

Following the workshop, participants are expected to continue cross-border collaborations and dialogues, reinforcing their shared commitment to academic freedom and social justice across the region.