Paloma U. Zobel, having the idea to build a platform for the Filipino youth where they can come together and voice out their ideas, founded IDEA’YALA – an innovative challenge for the young minds to come up with an idea that will shape the future of the mall.

From over 40 schools nationwide, 175 teams (800 individuals) participated and voiced out their ideas. Southville Students were blessed to have been given the opportunity to join and be a part of the IDEA’YALA challenge. ISHAVISION, composed of marketing management students Jan Rasia Laurel, Hosen Balbontin, Jan Dalawampu, and Joenard Caballero, was chosen as part of the Top 30 groups who have showcased a bright, innovative, and creative idea.

During the Pre-Summit Orientation on October 3 at the Ayala Mind Museum, the IDEA’YALA participants were given the opportunity to meet and get to know fellow participants, as well as some of the mentors.The 30 teams were given framed certificates in appreciation of their promising and innovative idea. Don Jaime Zobel De Ayala, chairman emeritus of Ayala Corporation, and Paloma congratulated and commended the young, bright minds& rendered words of wisdom and inspiration.The people of Ayala had a lovely surprise for the IDEA’YALA participants by inviting Christina Grimmie from The Voice Season 6 to grace the event with her presence. She serenaded the crowd with her version of Wrecking Ball. Needless to say, the IDEA’YALA participants ended the night with huge grins on their faces.

In the Day 1 summit, PalomaZobel& Katrina Razon, a talented DJ and co-founder of Manila Music Festival, talked about the Burning Man, a festival dedicated to community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance. They imparted the lessons they have learned from their experience from participating in the Burning Man such asradical self-expression, radical self-reliance, radical inclusion, immediacy, leaving no trace, individual participation, collaborative output, communal effort, gifting, civic responsibility, anddecommodification.

Dan Matutina, a graphic designer, illustrator and winner of New Yorks Art Director’s Club Young Guns 2013, gave tips on how to generate ideas. “The greater number of inputs, the greater number of outputs.” He said.

The last speaker, Juliette Lamontagne, is a TED talks fellow and founder of Breaker, a social innovation program. Juliette was also a former New York high school teacher, so she did have a lot to say about education. She said that education should be built on authentic learning and that education is siloed from the current drivers of innovation.One thing she mentioned that had a huge impact on the participants was to fail forward – learn from your mistake and use that experience to be better. She reminded the youth that they should seize every opportunity and to lean into it.

After the talks from thementors, the IDEA’YALA participants felt inspired and ready to face the challenges of the Day 1 competition.