Kaya ko Kaya ko “Kaya ko” means “I can.” In the same spirit, Kaya Co. envisions a global Filipino community that holds power in the collective. We dream of Philippine changemakers empowered in tackling local issues, and a diaspora that’s ready to listen, understand, and act in solidarity as the global hands and voices of home. We work to achieve this by inspiring, educating, and mobilizing diaspora youth as partners to long-term, locally led social change in the Philippines. Our work is anchored on three core values: critcon CRITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS We are committed to understanding the world in all dimensions of what it is and what it can be. We strive on one hand to understand the cascading histories of culture, politics, and thoughts that led to today’s world – and on the other hand, to examine the existing assets and potential models for change that can lead to a better tomorrow. crithcd CREATIVE EMPATHY We begin with understanding people: their motivations, their goals, and the activities at hand. From there, we facilitate the free flow of ideas, encouraging quantity over quality at first, and entrusting the best thoughts to rise to the top. Then we test and we prototype, gathering feedback, adapting, failing and resetting until the pieces fit. critcoll COLLECTIVE LEADERSHIP A leader is nothing without a movement; a constellation of committed individuals means nothing if it doesn’t translate to change in the communities and institutions that surround them. We promote leadership that challenges mindsets, inspires supporters, and ties diverse agendas together towards a unified direction for change. Join us next summer by applying to our flagship program, the Kaya fellowship! And keep an eye out for more opportunities to contribute to our organization and our cause.