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Press Release

November 1, 2019

JICA video blog contest challenges young Filipinos to share their voices on Philippine-Japan relations

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) encourages young Filipinos to share their ideas on how the bilateral ties between Japan and the Philippines can sustain the country's economic growth in a 5-minute video blog.

The contest is open to Filipino youth from the age group 18-24 years old who can share their opinion and experiences on how Japan or JICA affects their lives. Japan is the Philippines' major trading partner accounting for 11.8% (US$9.98 billion) of total trade in 2018, and is a major source of investments accounting for PhP4 billion in the second quarter of 2019. While, Japan is the country's leading ODA partner with ODA disbursement amounting to US$352 million in 2017, data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) showed.

Currently, JICA's more than 80 projects in the Philippines aim to help the country achieve sustainable economic growth, overcome vulnerability, and achieve peace and development in Mindanao. "We are engaging young Filipinos to share with us their thoughts and experiences so we can explore innovative ways on how we can move our bilateral relations forward and address our common problems together," said JICA Philippines Chief Representative Yoshio Wada.

JICA said Japan is also learning from the Philippines' development experience, and is keen to share Japan's technology and knowhow in addressing both countries' shared problems. Like Japan, the Philippines is also prone to natural disasters, and a maritime nation dependent on its coastal resources. JICA currently implements ODA projects in the Philippines addressing issues in disaster management, maritime safety, governance, transport infrastructure, investment promotion, agribusiness development, environment and social development, as well as peace and development in Mindanao among others.

"The Philippines is a country with a very young population and this demographic sweet spot presents opportunities to sustain development," added Chief Representative Wada. Data from the government showed that more than half of the Philippine population is 24 years and under, thus creating new prospects for future decision makers to shape the future of the Philippine economy.

The video blog contest is open until 17 November 2019. Details for the contest are available here: JICAVlogContest. Also supporting the activity are Japan National Tourism Organization, BusinessWorld SparkUp, Business Mirror, The Japan Foundation, and All Nippon Airways Co.Ltd (ANA).

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