A GRADUATE student from Silliman University will participate in the Youth Rising Workshop.

Organized by the SEA Coalition for Academic Freedom, the workshop will bring together 15 youth delegates from across Southeast Asia for an intensive creative exchange on art-making, storytelling, dialogue, and content creation that promotes human rights and academic freedom.

The event will be held from October 31 to November 1, 2025, at Mahidol University, Salaya Campus, Thailand. Youth Rising provides a platform for young scholars and artists to explore how imagination and critical inquiry can confront repression and inspire collective action in academic spaces.

Through participatory sessions, the workshop aims to reclaim campuses as spaces of freedom and amplify youth voices in advancing rights, democracy, and social justice across the region. Representing the Philippines, Rivera said his participation “aligns with my advocacy of fostering safe spaces for open and critical conversations through writing and debating in my hometown, Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur.”

A former YSEALI Academic Fellow at the University of Nebraska at Omaha under the US State Department’s ASEAN program, Rivera has long been involved in youth leadership and civic engagement. After the workshop, participants will continue cross-border collaborations and dialogues, reinforcing their shared commitment to academic freedom and social justice in Southeast Asia.