A STUDENT from the Ateneo de Manila University was named the Outstanding Young Human Rights Defender by the Amnesty International Philippines during its Ignite Awards held over the weekend.

Franchesca Paula “Cheska” Garcia, a YL6 student and a scholar at the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health, was recognized for her advocacy on violence against women, safe spaces and equal rights for the LGBTQIA+ community.

“This includes her work with TLF Share and Love Yourself on localizing several HIV testing hubs and Republic Act 11166 (Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Act, 2018), and with the local government unit of San Pablo City, Laguna on teenage pregnancy,” Ateneo said.

Garcia said her time in ASMPH helped her advance her advocacy.

“This would not be possible without the knowledge and the new learnings on public health that I was able to gain in ASMPH for two years. I am sincerely grateful to our alma mater, hence I would like to share this award [with] the ASMPH community,” she said.

She hoped that the award “inspires all Filipino youth out there to continue working on their purpose, on taking initiatives, on withholding zeal for service, and on remembering the grit needed to help and to serve.”

Launched in 2017, the Ignite Awards aims to recognize human rights defenders who helped change people’s lives, policies, activism and accountability through their human rights work.

This year’s awards had the theme “Protect the Protest,” Amnesty International’s newest campaign on the right to protest that it launched in 2022.

The other awardees were Walden Bello, for Distinguished Human Rights Defender – Individual; CenterLay, for Distinguished Human Rights Defender – Organization; and Calix and BLKD of the rap group Sandata, for Art that Matters for Music.