Strategic Foresight Training for Youth Leaders in GIDA’s held at MSU-TCTO
The Critical Futures Program (CFP) of UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UPCIDS), led by Dr. Emmanuel C. Lallana, Professorial Fellow from the University of the Philippines, Convenor of CFP, and Adjunct Professor at MSU-TCTO, successfully conducted the Strategic Foresight Training for Youth Leaders in GIDA’s on July 1-2, 2025, at the Mindanao State University – Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography (MSU-TCTO).
The training was organized by the Office of Student Relations led by Director Regimar Rasid, Ph.D., Office of the Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development, and Institute for Peace and Development in Mindanao (IPDM). The event was formally opened by. Dr. Mary Joyce Z. Guinto-Sali, Chancellor of MSU-TCTO.
The first lecture was delivered by Freddy A. Julkanain, MPA, Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development, who introduced various approaches to futures thinking and its value for leadership.
Dr. Lallana’s lecture focused on strategic foresight, covering three core methods—horizon scanning, scenario planning, and backcasting. Using practical examples, he showed how these tools can help anticipate both opportunities and challenges. Each method was discussed in detail, and participants engaged in group tasks to apply what they learned, presenting their outputs after every session.
The training aimed to equip youth leaders in GIDA with strategic foresight skills that will enhance their leadership abilities in anticipating challenges and enable them to actively participate in policy development in their communities.
A total of 22 student leaders actively participated in the two-day training, engaging in hands-on foresight activities designed to strengthen their capacity to imagine and shape better futures for their communities.
The event concluded with closing remarks from Asst. Prof. Madzween Joy De Asis-Omar, Director of the Institute for Peace and Development in Mindanao, who urged the student leaders to apply foresight in shaping their communities’ futures.