The City Government of Baguio upholds its commitment to support youth participation in city planning and development, as it renewed its partnerships for the Safe and Sound Cities (S²Cities) program through a ceremonial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing on March 6, 2025 at the Mayor’s Office.
The signed MoU also marks the start of the second phase of the S²Cities program in Baguio City, following the success of Phase 1.
“We have seen through the s2Cities program how young people, when given the right opportunities and support, can take the lead in improving their cities. Baguio’s experience with S²Cities shows that there are many meaningful ways for local governments to involve and collaborate with the youth, and these efforts have reenergized active youth participation in the city,” said Mayor Benjamin Magalong.
S²Cities is a global program led by the Global Infrastructure Basel (GIB) Foundation, hosted by the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, with the support of Fondation Botnar.
It aims to improve young people’s safety and well-being in urban environments.
The MoU formalized Baguio City Government’ s partnerships with the Cordilleran Youth Center (CYC), a Baguio-based youth organization that will lead the Phase II implementation, and the ICLEI- Local Governments for Sustainability Southeast Asia (ICLEI SEA), the S²Cities program’s government engagement partner in SEA.
Through the City Planning, Development and Sustainability Office (CPDS0), the Baguio City Government will collaborate with CYC and ICLEI SEA to oversee the Phase II implementation.
Set to run until 2028, Phase I1 of S²Cities will focus on systems understanding, capacity strengthening, innovation, implementation, and scaling. A new set of youth-led initiatives will also receive seed funding, while ongoing support will be provided for Phase I projects.
Phase l of the program’s implementation in Baguio resulted in the establishment of the SIGLAT (Synergize, Innovation and Gravitate Leadership towards Adaptive Technologies) Youth Innovation Hub, a co-working space that the Baguio City Government dedicated for its youth; and youth-designed and led projects such as the Happy Paws Pet Park and Baguio Wellness Hub.
ICLEI SEA supported the program’s Phase I implementation in the Philippines, specifically in cities of Baguio and Naga, in 2023 to 2024 by facilitating engagements with local governments and will continue to do so for Phase ll.
“In Phase of S²Cities in the Philippines, the commitment of local governments to partner with the youth proved to be crucial for the program to achieve its goals, contributing to the people-centered development of the partner cities. For Baguio City, we aim to continue supporting their local government and their youth as they reach new milestones in Phase II of the program,” said ICLEI SEA Regional Director Victorino Aquitania.
Activities during Phase I of S²Cities in Baguio included a survey of urban safety, stakeholder consultations, workshops and capacity building activities, and ideation, designing, and implementation of safety solutions, among other youth-focused engagements.
Baguio is the first City in the Philippines and the second city in Southeast Asia to officially be part of the S²Cities global network of program cities. It follows the pilot sites of Bandung, Indonesia and Envigado, Colombia.
ICLEI SEA and Baguio have previously worked together in various sustainable development projects, including the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign; Sustainable Water Integrated Management and Governance; Preparatory research for LAB Asia initiatives Phases 1-3; AsianCitiesAdapt – Impacts of Climate Change in Target Cities in India and the Philippines and Local Adaptation Strategies; Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network; Circle Lab for Cities; and the One Planet City Challenge (OPCC).
