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Friday, December 20, 2013

TOYM Acceptance Speech 2013


The Outstanding Young Men Awarding Ceremonies
Malacanang Palace
December 19, 2013

Response from the TOYM 2013 Awardees
by Chris Tiu

His Excellency, President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III; Bienvenido Tantoco III, President of the TOYM Foundation; Mrs. Judy Roxas, Chairperson of the Gerry Roxas Foundation; Jose T. Pardo, Chairman of the TOYM 2013 Board of Judges; Ryan Ravanzo, National President of JCI Philippines; Congresswoman Leni Robredo, Member of the Board of Judges; Dicky Puyod, Chairman of the TOYM 2013 Search, to my fellow TOYM 2013 honorees, to our families and special guests, good afternoon to you all!
In behalf of this year’s awardees, I want to express our utmost appreciation for citing us among the great individuals in the 54-year history of the TOYM foundation. We feel unworthy to be standing amidst such distinguished and admirable individuals when there are many other young Filipinos out there who have so selflessly dedicated their lives for the betterment of our dear country. For this, we feel truly humbled and blessed!

A CHANGING WORLD
Our world is changing. Because of global warming, we are experiencing typhoons on an unprecedented scale. We can now do virtually anything on the go, from reading the paper, to watching movies, to booking an airline ticket.
We often hear the phrase, “Iba na ang kabataan ngayon”.  If you’re guilty of saying these words before, malamang hindi ka na nabibilang sa kabataan. The youth have information and resources at their fingertips and are a creative, capable, and intelligent generation. On the other hand, this may mean na iba na rin ang value system nila. We accept as reality many things which would have been considered scandalous to older generations. Because of modern day technology, we hardly have to wait for anything anymore and therefore, there is less need to be patient and persevering.

SELF FIRST
Consumer behavior is changing. The youth have become more fashion forward, and embarrassed to repeat an outfit because your entire social network can see what you are wearing with the advent of smart phones.
Measuring of ones self worth has evolved to the number of friends, followers or LIKES that one has on ones social media sites. Thus, encouraging the user to ‘keep up’ by posting more photos of himself, who he associates with, what he buys or where he eats.
In fact, ‘selfie’ has been named the word of the year by Oxford Dictionary. Don’t worry, if you lost me or don’t have any idea as to what I am talking about, that just means you don’t belong to this generation. “Selfie”, as defined by Wikipedia, is a self-portrait photography usually taken by a camera or a camera phone.
In an article earlier this year, Time Magazine has noted some negative traits of today’s youth, such as, lazy, narcissistic, materialistic, feeling of entitlement, less concerned with community. This is a cause for concern because these so called “Millenials” will be our future leaders!
This is why, in its 54-year history, the TOYM foundation, with its theme of “Inspiring a Nation of Heroes”, plays an even more important role today. By using modern day tools, it can reach out to our youth and propagate its core values of excellence, integrity and most importantly, a deep sense of service to community

SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE
Despite the many changes we have witnessed throughout the decades, from climate change, technology, buying habits, to our attitudes and behavior, there are some things that remain and SHOULD remain constant. And these are the timeless values that the TOYM Foundation espouses – excellence, honesty, humility, simplicity, sacrifice, and charity just to name a few. Regardless of age, gender, social class, race or religion, these principles serve as guiding pillars for human conduct that are proven to have enduring and permanent value.
In order for our country to progress, we cannot accept the “pwede na” attitude. Pursuing excellence cannot be learned overnight. It involves a process and tremendous commitment. Once it develops into a habit, it becomes a lifestyle. This is what we call virtue! The foundation of heroism in the Ignatian Spirituality is Magis, which means “more”, - being more, doing more! However, this simple motto requires a higher spirit for it to attain its fullness, which means that our motivation must transcend our own causes for a greater, higher being.
One of the world’s greatest leaders, the late Nelson Mandela constantly reminded his people that: “We should always be patient even if things are going bad, because great things will happen”. He also said, “what truly matters is the small acts of kindness towards others”. These words are very appropriate for our modern world where “selfies” are the in thing and everything has become so convenient that we need not bother to go out of our way for the good of others.

ROLE MODELS
We, too, have Mandelas in our midst.
             Emerson Atanacio, in Social Entrepreneurship
             Dr. Nicole Curato, for Sociology
             Dr. Custer Deocaris, for Science Communication
             Former Gov. Miguel Dominguez, in Government and Public Service
             Dr. Alonzo Gabriel, in Food Science and Technology
             June Cabal-Revilla, for Community Development
             Dr. Karl Reyes and Dr. Paolo Silva, in Medicine.
There is no question that the youth are constantly looking for role models, people they can emulate. Mainstream media and Hollywood do not often provide us with the best models, we know that. On the other hand, the most powerful influencers are those who are ‘real’, those we can interact with in our everyday lives, those who are one of us. Whenever we meet people who inspire us, we feel a sense of relief, that there is hope for the future! And even more, a force of motivation giving us that second, third, and fourth wind, to do more ourselves. Most of the time, our heroes don’t even know the magnitude of the impact they have on others. They just do what they do best, in their respective fields, with utmost excellence, integrity and service to the community.
Hence, I would like to thank our dearest family and friends who have served as our personal heroes. Your example and your faith in us inspire us to serve!
I would also like to thank our Lord for this blessing. To God be all the glory! We are merely His instruments.
Last Sunday, the priest gave a beautiful homily about real joy. He said “joy is not in receiving. But rather, it is when we give, that we receive.” We are immensely honored to be given the TOYM distinction and we are even more inspired to continue giving by living a life of virtue, discipline and other-centeredness. It will take some courage to relay this message in today’s world, but like Mandela and St. Ignatius, we need to go against the wind!
This year’s theme is “Inspiring a Nation of Heroes”. But heroes need heroes too. And heroism starts within each one of us.
Thank you!

7 comments:

  1. Hi Chris,

    I just found out about this while bloghopping on the web. I would have to agree that today's generation indeed has a lot more resources compared to those who were born, what, around 10 years ago. This fact, though, could also be a disadvantage (lots of distractions!). Your speech here's nice, and it made me think about a lot of things - about buried virtues, in particular. I might decide to rethink on my goals or missions in life.

    Your other posts here also inspired me to be involved more in the community and share the blessings that I receive to other people, get to know more about my faith and beliefs. I'm still wondering where or how to start.

    Congrats on the award, and may you continue to inspire us with your thoughts and acts. Keep on sharing, Chris. Reading this before my day/night ends made me feel good and blessed. Looking forward to your future endeavors.

    Happy holidays,
    Jan

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  2. You are my Hero :)

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  3. Well-said! Your speech gets people thinking. You are truly an icon not only Filipinos but also people around the world should look up to. Indeed a well-deserved award! Congratulations and continue being an inspiration to the youth. God bless.

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  4. Galing talaga chris

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  5. you do deserve the award chris tiu! thank you for being a role model to the youth. i admire you since i'm in high school. ( it's been three years now) i'll never get tired of watching you on your tv shows, interviews and basketball games.

    always take care chris tiu!

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  6. Idol Chris! Thanks for being an inspiration! People like you gives us hope that there are still good role models in this world that our youth could emulate. If only all future leaders could be like you! Continue to inspire all of us!

    Congrats on this very special award! Truly deserving! I thought nga you could have gotten this before, anyhow you've got it now! Yehey!

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  7. I was speechless reading your speech!! Reality it is, youth partakes a huge role in our society...if each 'youth' could just bring out a chris tiu in us, Philippines could have been a country to look up to. You, as a leader doesnt only inspires us but encourages us, motivates us to start of being a desciple of Christ so the rest will 'crystallize' :)

    Like what you always say.. Let's do our part and let God's plan fall into place.

    God bless!! Morepower!!

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