(First of three parts)Old organizations, particularly those over 100 years old, usually mellow in their old age, and tend to seek a “permanent comfort” in the old rituals they kept faithful to for so many years. They often withdraw from the aggression of real life, and gravitate to the safety of old habits and ancient ceremonies.
The Order of the Knights of Rizal turns 100 years old on December 30. But the vibrancy of everyday reality, and particularly the uncertainty of escalating ethnic violence and a seemingly unsolvable peace problem, the growing disgust with homegrown urban and rural gangsterism and the nagging realization of a poverty-stagnated economy that has not improved the status of the common tao for more than 400 years—all these factors have only spurred the knights to dare partnerships with the young, the professionals, the teachers of this country to create a new youth, a new leadership. This is what the Knights of Rizal are about today.
Sixty years ago, in the 1950s, the knights elected a series of supreme commanders all coming from the field of education, principally heads or former heads of the major universities. All stressed the importance of learning the virtues and ideals of Jose Rizal and the need to train the young in leadership for the nation. Otherwise, what did Rizal die for? Only a personal martyrdom?
It was Santiago de la Cruz, then- president of the University of the East (UE), who started the first leadership institute in 1961. The first fora were held in classrooms and then in the auditorium of UE on Sundays, but in later years, the Institute moved to Camp Allen in Baguio City and eventually, to Teacher’s Camp where the attendance has been steadily growing from the first institutes of a hundred students to some 700 student leaders recently. The original lecture and story presentation is now modernized with group dynamics techniques, PowerPoint presentations and short videos.
Teaming up with the Organizational Change Consultants International (OCCI) has definitely left its imprint in terms of a systematic but flexible methodology, team-building exercises, and an objective-motivated course plan. The OCCI is an independent organization that uses its talents and resources to transform individuals, communities and the nation. It holds firmly to systems thinking and education as a prime mover toward development and nationhood. The Knights of Rizal believe in these goals and share this mission as expressed by OCCI.
By far, the most important factor in the success of this leadership training, is cultivating the young students themselves to become facilitators and co-trainers with the knights in this endeavor. In the 1960s, young boys became squires; and later college leaders, both boys and girls, became members of Kapariz or Kabataang Pangarap ni Rizal. Today, Kapariz is the official youth arm of the Knights of the Rizal. It is the umbrella organization of all existing Rizal youth groups in schools and communities nationwide. It is a fraternal civic, patriotic, cultural and nonpartisan. Aside from strengthening their own organization, a number of Kapariz leaders have also become knights.
Part of the leadership training are exercises and competitions in oratory and extemporaneous speaking, essay writing, art and performing arts. The latter is a flexible competition in various forms of song, dance and spectacle done by random groups from various schools and regions. In most of the contests, the rivalry is strong and the competition is invariably very close, often making it difficult for judges to decide.
Confronted by the electric dynamism of the youth today, it would be extremely narcissistic to think that we, the knights alone could transform this nation, as Rizal had envisioned when he wrote El Filibusterismo, the charter for revolution.
It is time to pass on the baton, and prepare the young for the new leadership.
(To be continued)
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