5 young leaders flying to South Africa as Rappler’s One Young World 2026 delegates - Rappler

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MANILA, Philippines – Rappler is bringing five young Filipino leaders to Cape Town, South Africa to attend the 2026 One Young World Summit (OYW).

The chosen OYW-Rappler scholars represent a variety of fields: youth entrepreneurship and education, sports and gender empowerment, data science and communications, governance and political participation. They were chosen for their leadership qualities, impact their organizations have made, and their potential to make the most of the international summit for communities in the Philippines.

The One Young World Summit 2026 is happening from November 3 to 6. The largest international gathering of young people, who come from over 190 countries, the summit features panel discussions, workshops, and plenary speeches involving world leaders, experts, icons, and renowned personalities about the world’s most pressing issues, and what young people can do about them.

By bringing together youth leaders from a variety of backgrounds, sectors, and advocacies, the summit also helps them network and find meaningful connections to help with their initiatives.

To help promote their efforts and advocacies, the scholars will be holding a series of chats and conversations on Rappler. To join or watch, download the Rappler app for free, and go to the Muni tab, home to Rappler’s chat rooms.

John is the founder of I-SAVED, a youth org in Cagayan whose mission is to help the province’s youth finish schooling and get a chance at a better future. Now with around 1,200 members, it was recognized as one of the Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO) Awardees in 2021.

On October 17, he has invited two lawyers to a livestreamed Ask Me Anything session about a pressing problem facing young entrepreneurs: mounting debt caused by bouncing checks and questionable microfinance arrangements. To send questions or tune in, join the Front Page chat room.

Gybel is the managing director of Girls Got Game Philippines, a volunteer group that holds regular sports camps for young girls, and provides support for their families.

Learn to play and coach basketball by joining the chat event “Ask Me Anything: Women’s Basketball Edition,” led by Gybel on October 24 in the Palarong Pambansa chat room.

As program manager at the Institute for Autonomy and Governance in Cotabato City, Jasser helps train the youth of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), and the region’s political parties for governance and political involvement.

What comes next after the historic BARMM parliamentary elections? Join Jasser and other BARMM civic leaders for a livestreamed discussion on October 1. Join in by sending questions or insights to the Bangsamoro Voices chat room.

For the first time, Rappler is sending one of its own as an OYW delegate. Kit is head of strategy for business intelligence, specializing in data science, brand strategy, and fighting disinformation amid an increasingly complex and dangerous information ecosystem.

Get practical tips on how to regain control of your feed and fight AI-powered disinformation by joining Kit for a community chat on the Everyday Tech chat room on September 30.

The son of a farmer, JJ is president of Growganika SIKAD, a sustainable farming organization in Tarlac. The group has reached three barangays and trained hundreds of young farmers, some of whom have gone on to win the Department of Agriculture’s Young Farmers Challenge.

JJ will hold a discussion about what it takes to get more young Filipinos interested and invested in Philippine agriculture. This will happen on October 2, at the Environment and Science chat room.

This is the third straight year that Rappler has helped get promising Filipino youths to the One Young World Summit, held in different countries each year. This stems from Rappler CEO and 2021 Nobel laureate Maria Ressa being named an OYW counsellor in 2024. Counsellors are world leaders who speak at OYW summits. Maria will again speak at the gathering this year.

Rappler invites you to meet our scholars, by joining their various activities and conversations on Muni, inside the Rappler app. See you in the chat rooms! – Rappler.com