FES Philippines

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆?

The 13th batch of the Academy of Political Management (APM) spent a week in Iloilo examining what democratic leadership requires at a time when governance demands are becoming more complex, public expectations are rising, and political actors are expected to navigate deep social and economic pressures.

Across sessions on political systems, governance, public finance, sustainability, peace and security, gender justice, and political organization, fellows explored how institutions function in practice and how leaders across government, civil society, media, and the private sector shape public trust, policy outcomes, and democratic accountability. The programme also examined the realities of governing in environments shaped by inequality, competing interests, polarization, and rapidly changing political and economic conditions. Discussions challenged fellows to think beyond technical solutions and consider the broader institutional, social, and political dimensions of leadership and reform. The leadership democracy can rely on is built long before public office, through the kind of sustained formation work programmes like APM are designed to do.

The Academy of Political Management (APM) is Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Philippines’ flagship leadership programme, bringing together emerging leaders committed to social democracy, ethical governance, and meaningful reform. Now in its 13th batch, the programme continues to strengthen a growing network of individuals working across sectors who recognize that democratic governance depends on institutions capable of responding to public needs while sustaining accountability, participation, and long-term reform.

Follow along as APM Batch 13 continues engaging with the evolving questions shaping governance and democratic leadership in the Philippines.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆. 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝗻?

The Philippines just declared a national energy emergency, the first country in the world to do so. The shift off fossil fuels has become a survival question, and the young Filipinos who will live longest with today's energy decisions deserve a real hand in shaping them.

𝗥𝗘𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗧 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝟲 is now open for applications. Over 12 months, you will build green skills, work with communities living through the energy transition, and develop actual policy and project proposals with our partners Reboot Philippines, CARRD, Kasama Ka! Laguna, and Green Empowered Alliance.

If you are 18 to 30 and want to help lead a just, decentralized, and community-driven energy future, this is for you.

Deadline for applications is on 06 June 2026!

Learn more about how to apply here:
👉bit.ly/FES-REBOOT-2026

𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝘀𝗶𝗮-𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀

FES Asia-Pacific just wrapped a two-day Future of Work Conference in Bangkok, bringing together trade unions, AI experts, and labour policy specialists to tackle one of the most pressing questions in the region: can platform economies grow without pushing more workers into precarity?

Across the region, countries are beginning to act. Singapore’s Platform Workers Act came into force in January 2025, and Malaysia passed the world’s first comprehensive Gig Workers Bill in September 2025, covering over 1.2 million workers. These are early but meaningful signals that the region is starting to take platform worker protection seriously.

As a country with one of the fastest-growing platform and gig workforces in the region and one of the highest rates of informal digital labour in the world, the Philippines has every reason to be part of this conversation, and to turn regional momentum into protections that reach millions of workers at home.

Key issues discussed in Bangkok, including the upcoming ILO Convention on Platform Work, AI’s role in supply chain governance, and what fair digital labour standards could look like in practice, are exactly the questions that matter for workers and policymakers here at home.

𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀' 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮

From 23-27 March 2026, we launched the Women in Security Programme 2026, bringing together emerging Filipina leaders in the security sector.

Over five days, participants engaged in intensive discussions on maritime security, geoeconomics, civil-military relations, and the blue economy, alongside critical conversations on human security, climate change, and gender in security institutions. The workshop featured leading experts from academia, government, and the security sector, creating a dynamic space for learning and exchange.

Security policy shapes who gets protected, how threats are defined, and whose experiences count as a risk worth responding to. When women are excluded from that process, the gaps show. The Women, Peace and Security Index, which ranks 181 countries on women's inclusion, justice, and security, finds that where women are excluded from policymaking, security analysis develops blind spots, missing critical early warning signals and consistently underaddressing threats to civilian communities.

Follow along for more insights and highlights from the programme.