2022 IPYG Virtual Dance Competition “Dance 4 Peace”

On 7 July, the finals and award ceremony of the 2022 IPYG Dance Competition, Dance 4 Peace, took place online. The event was hosted by the Philippines branch of the IPYG.

A total of 1,900 people across 212 teams participated in this dance competition, which included teams recruited from Filipino youth groups and students starting from the end of March. Each team competed in two qualifying rounds from 9 April through 14 May, resulting in the top five teams advancing to the finals.

Dr. Ronald L. Adamat, Commissioner of the Commission on Higher Education, and Akmad A. Brahim, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy – BARMM, were in attendance for the ceremony. Dr. Adamat gave greetings of peace to the competition’s youth participants and expressed, “I have to congratulate you because this program will go a long way in the promotion of the culture of peace.”

A highlight video of the teams that passed each round was then showcased, and the five teams that reached the finals competed for the championship. After the final stage, the grand champion and rankings of each team from 1^st to 4^th place were announced. Awarded as the grand champion, Indayaw Dance Company stated during their award acceptance speech, “We, the Indayaw Dance Company, supports the DPCW, HWPL, and the IPYG for peace! Peace starts with you, we are one!” The winning team will perform as an official IPYG dance group at various HWPL and IPYG peace events.

Coach Lowell Basa Tan of the UST Sinag Ballroom Dance Company, who participated as judge of the competition, shared, “I liked all the performances and the awareness that was given, not only for peace and war, but also for drugs. This was actually nice to see. And I also liked the idea of some parts of the DPCW’s articles being read. I got to understand and listen to it. It’s an honor to be part of the judging panel of this dance for peace.”

This year’s dance competition provided the foundation for the platform for Filipino youth and students to participate in the work of peace, led by the IPYG in the Philippines. Moving forward, the Philippines branch of the IPYG will utilize this platform to promote peace together with all the youth who love and want to achieve peace.

Director Angela Digol of the Philippines branch of the IPYG stated, “Youth, as leaders for peaceful future, need to voice out for the world peace together. Youth can help in spreading and advocating peace through this kind of medium. They can be a messenger of peace in their own little way and contribute in this noble work. Peace is not easy to achieve and it’s even more difficult to achieve alone. However, if 1.4 billion youth around the world are united as one for peace, it will be realized in this era.”

Dance moves the hearts of youth and serves as a medium to unite them together. Dance 4 Peace was designed after a long period of cooperation by the Philippines branch of the IPYG and Rotary Club of Manila Metro (RCMM) to spread a culture of peace by harnessing the enthusiasm of the competition’s youth participants as the driving force in generating waves of peace in the Philippines. In addition, it was also designed to spread awareness about the 10 articles and 38 clauses of the DPCW, a tool for achieving peace in the midst of the global crisis caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.

The RCMM, which signed an MOU with HWPL on 24 February this year, is an international rotary network club where local communities and individuals unite to create and practice lasting change. There are 50 active members in 3, 810 districts based in Manila, Philippines.