JUST NAMED A “YOUNG GLOBAL LEADER OF 2008” by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Geneva, Manila-born Illac Diaz, 36, is making waves not by leaving the Philippines (though he’s done that too) but by calling the world’s attention to Filipino vision sparked by brilliance and marked by compassion.
Illac joins Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero and 243 other public figures, executives and intellectuals 40 years old or younger who “initiate, develop and drive innovative solutions to globally-oriented issues," in the words of the head of WEF’s Young Global Leaders Forum David Aikman.
Many know already of Chiz Escudero, but who is Illac (pronounced ee-lak) Diaz?
Surrounded by both art and squatters in the neighborhood, Illac’s childhood memories include accompanying his mother on her weekly feeding program for street children.
Illac asked. “My priority is to answer the call of service on my own terms in confronting poverty,” Illac told the writer Ria V. Ferro. Establishing Pier One in Intramuros the year he graduated from AIM in 2001 was the beginning of Illac’s lengthening trail of firsts. This first migrant housing center in Manila met an urgent demand for affordable, clean and safe transient housing for men coming to Manila from the provinces to look for work as seamen, and seamen awaiting the next voyage out. Pier One made Illac Diaz the youngest AIM alumnus to receive an Honors & Prestige award in 2003. CNN reported the story and three new awards came in 2004 – an Everyday Hero Special Award from Readers Digest Asia; an Entrepreneur Award from the 1st Johnny Walker Social Awards; and a runner-up award in New York’s Next Big Idea International Design Competition. This more affordable, indigenous rather than fully manufactured construction material addressed the shortage of clinics and schools in rural Philippines. Housing and all forms of shelter have been a constant theme of Illac Diaz’s public life. Bonus points on the work's ‘compassion’ and ‘creativity’ scale went through the roof. The idea had alighted on Illac while visiting his late aunt Rio Diaz-Cojuangco in Negros, where he noticed adobe bridges built in Spanish times. Internet research and visits to India and America made him realize that the idea of adobe houses was eminently applicable to the Philippines. Ria Ferro observes that “identifying gaps of service, devising ingenious business solutions based on pioneering ideas and achieving significant gains in the quality of life of a marginalized group” have been the themes of Illac Diaz’s world trajectory, with awards trailing behind.
Word of the WEF Young Global Leaders Award came as he presently works on a global architectural competition to design more disaster resistant classrooms in the Philippines. Back in Boston, this time he’s on a mid-career Masters in Public Administration as a Catherine Reynolds scholar in Social Entrepreneurship in Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
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