A Fellowship With a Mindanao Focus
OZAMIZ CITY - Yapac’s selection gives Ozamiz City a fresh connection to an international leadership program designed specifically for emerging community leaders in Mindanao. Misamis University said she is among only 10 fellows chosen for the 2026 cohort and the second young leader from Misamis Occidental to join the program. The fellowship is fully funded and combines several learning components, including English for Development, sustainability training, a residential workshop in Davao City, and further study in Aotearoa New Zealand. UnionAID describes MinYLP as a capacity-sharing program intended to strengthen participants’ knowledge, skills, and confidence while helping them contribute to sustainable and peaceful development in their communities.
Learning Beyond the Classroom
What makes the opportunity especially relevant to Ozamiz is Yapac’s work with Misamis University’s Community Extension Program. Her role connects her with projects designed to work alongside communities, making the fellowship’s focus on sustainable development particularly applicable to her professional responsibilities. The university said fellows will explore a development challenge relevant to their communities, giving the program a practical component rather than limiting it to lectures and coursework. The Aotearoa New Zealand portion is scheduled as a 12-week Sustainable Development Course from August to November 2026. The experience gives Yapac an opportunity to encounter approaches from another setting while remaining connected to community concerns in Mindanao.
Bringing New Ideas Back Home
The university said the fellowship could provide Yapac with new perspectives and approaches for its community extension work, particularly in strengthening partnerships and developing locally responsive initiatives. That is a measured but meaningful benefit: the program is not presented as an instant solution to a particular Ozamiz concern, but as a chance to develop skills that may later be applied through community work. Her selection also places Misamis University within a diverse 2026 cohort representing communities across Mindanao, including Zamboanga, Butuan, General Santos, Marawi, Malaybalay, and Jolo. For Ozamiz City, the story is a positive example of a local professional gaining wider exposure while preparing to bring lessons from that experience back into community-focused work.
