UNIVERSITAS: Seven years of values-based leadership

In 2000, international research firm McCann Erickson reported that there was a growing change on the youth’s views on morality. The study spelled out how technology and the new media bring about a “widening gray area between perceived right and wrong among today’s youth.”

Many of the youth surveyed, for instance, accept abortion as a replacement to early marriage, because they considered having “another mouth to feed” during times of financial difficulty not a good idea. Only about half of them, meanwhile, would personally consider premarital sex and frequent gambling as outright wrong.

Hence, the need for values education—to form minds while they are young in the hope that they can lead better lives and build a better society. While it is true that wisdom comes with age, the eagerness and the ability to learn are highest early on in life.

Universitas was formed in 2003 to address these needs. The group believes that good governance can be traced to good upbringing of leaders, with the right values planted in their hearts and minds while they are young. It envisions a society of leaders with strong foundations in the right values related to scholarship, leadership, and service.

Latin for universality, Universitas is a group of university scholars and student leaders that aims to foster among its members a spirit of excellence and service to society and promote values education among the youth. It also promotes unity of life and a universal regard to unchanging truths.

For six years now, Kapuluan’s key project has been able to reach thousands of students, youth leaders, and scholars all over the Philippines through talks, conferences, publications, and social outreach programs that focus on themes like values, virtues, leadership, youth solidarity, the need for culture and having a social conscience.

At the same time, its activities encourage life outside the workspace recognizing that one also has family and friends to spend time with, seeing the importance of rest from work. Universitas underlines the importance of a holistic and well-balanced formation.

Universitas has achieved these through the help of several sponsors, like the Cultural and Educational Foundation of Angeles (CEFA), Philamlife, National Bookstore, Penshoppe, MG Reprographics and several parents of Kapuluan fellows, our patrons like Mrs. Amelia Castillo- la Ó, Mr. and Mrs. Ding Quintos, and Mrs. Juliet Buenaventura, who provided the seed money to start the organization.

Since a life of virtue is a tall endeavor—a life-long process—and one that needs a very deep foundation, Universitas aims to train the youth to commit themselves to good and sound ideals—going deep into them, up to such a point that they make it their own. And there is no better time to start than when one is still young.