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TWO Filipinos were included in the top 300 young
global leaders list for 2008 of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
There were about 5,000 candidates worldwide.
In a statement released
Wednesday, the Geneva-based international organization recognized
Sen. Francis Joseph “Chiz” Escudero and former actor and
entrepreneur Illac Diaz for their contributions to society.
Escudero is a member of the
Nationalist People’s Coalition and currently the Secretary General
of the United Opposition. During the 2007 elections, he got the
second highest number of votes among senatorial candidates.
He was a member of the Philippine
House of Representatives from 1998 to 2007, and served as the
Minority Floor Leader of the 13th Congress.
Diaz is the founder of CentroMigrante,
a self-help business model that provides clean, safe and affordable
housing for Filipinos who come to Manila to look for jobs as seamen.
He also founded the
MyShelter Foundation, which builds low-cost classrooms using the
Earthbag Construction System. Diaz has been named as one of The
Outstanding Young Persons of the World by the Jaycees International.
The WEF also recognized
Hollywood Actor Leonardo DiCaprio; Grammy Award winner Shakira
Mebarak Singe; Thomas Glocer, Chief Executive Officer, Reuters,
United Kingdom; Arthur Sulzberger, Chairman and Publisher, The New
York Times, USA; and Hisashi Hieda, Chairman and CEO, Fuji
Television Network, Japan. The selection committee is chaired by
Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
“We need the Young Global
Leaders to be a voice for the future in the global thought process
and as a catalyst for initiatives in the global public interest,”
Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of WEF said.
Incorporated as a foundation in
1971, the WEF is impartial and non-profit, and is tied to no
political, partisan or national interests.
--Darwin G Amojelar
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