AROUND 4,000 students, youth and Christian leaders and volunteers are expected to convene in San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan, for the 2023 International Youth Fellowship (IYF) World Camp set September 19 to 21 at the SJDM Sports Complex.

Organizers are hoping the participants from Bulacan and across the Philippines would learn the IYF mindset — deep thinking, self-control exchange, and its core values: challenge, change, and cohesion.

The IYF World Camp is in partnership with San Jose del Monte City.

The World Camp is an affirmation of both parties’ decision for the mind reformation of the young generations of the city and youth from other countries.

The activity is aimed at producing next-generation leaders with sound mind and humble leadership.

According to Rev. Ock Soo Park, founder of IYF, Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

“It is like doing the old ways in youth development and expecting the next-generation leaders with humble leadership and upright mindset will be the fruit. It is like ‘business as usual’ and expecting a result toward a ‘new’ and vibrant society. If this is what we do, the IYF believes we are losing our sanity,” Park said.

Through this youth gathering, IYF wants to impart a paradigm shift in youth development that is established in the world of the heart.

This will lead to a force of young leaders that will not just be a value-added but a determinant in shaping a vibrant and peaceful society. It is a positioning for a strategic force for the future of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.

“We want our youth to sleep with happiness and wake up with hope. The fundamental tanglaw or torch that has been constant in lighting the path of the youth to become great leaders and leading them toward having humble leadership is the love of Jesus Christ on which the IYF mindset and core values are rooted,” said Park. The IYF is now in its 13th year. The attendees will spend three days for mind education, leadership lectures, academics, and cultural performances that provide opportunities to learn the world of the heart, IYF mindset, and experience diverse cultures.

The IYF Philippines has hosted this annual youth gathering since 2010 in partnership with various local government units and organizations.