Lendl Meniado, ICLEI Southeast Asia (SEA) project officer, during the Urban Governance Course of the 2025 Newly Elected Officials Performing Leadership for Uplifting Service (NEO PLUS) Program of the Philippine Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), August 27, 2025 at Novotel Manila Araneta City, Quezon City. (Photo from the DILG National Capital Region Facebook page)

ICLEI Southeast Asia (SEA) Project Officer Lendl Meniado, EnP, served as the resource speaker on “Inclusive Governance in Action: Strengthening Social Protection through Partnerships” in the 2025 Newly Elected Officials Performing Leadership for Uplifting Service (NEO PLUS) Program’s Urban Governance Course, organized by the Philippine Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for National Capital Region (NCR) officials.

The two-day course, held August 26-27, 2025 at Novotel Manila Araneta City, Quezon City, aimed to foster effective leadership transitions and strengthen the institutional capacities of newly elected and re-elected officials to support sustainable urban development in the NCR.

Meniado led the discussion on inclusive governance during the second day of the course, which focused on thematic sectoral breakout discussions that explored various current and emerging policy areas on social resilience and protection.

During the discussion, she emphasized the importance of strengthening social protection through partnerships, noting how inclusive governance and collaborations with diverse organizations help social resilience in communities thrive.

Meniado also highlighted ICLEI SEA’s ongoing initiatives in sustainable urban development in the NCR, including the Enhancing Local Capacities in Socially Inclusive Resilience in Asia (SIRA) Project.

With the theme “Sustaining Synergistic, Strategic, and Transformative Leadership,” the Urban Governance Course is part of the three-year NEO PLUS program, which builds on the original NEO program with a stronger emphasis on strategic leadership, policy reform, and responsive public service.

The NEO PLUS program, as a capacity development initiative designed to support local leaders throughout their term, is being implemented through the DILG’s Local Government Academy (LGA) in three phases: Accepting the Mandate and Embracing the Development Challenge (June to December 2025); Acting on the Mandate and Addressing the Development Challenge (January to December 2026); and Achieving Results and Embedding Gains (January 2027 to June 2028).

Meniado (5th from the left) in a group photo during the Urban Governance Course of the 2025 Newly Elected Officials Performing Leadership for Uplifting Service (NEO PLUS) Program of the Philippine Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), August 27, 2025 at Novotel Manila Araneta City, Quezon City. (Photo from the DILG National Capital Region Facebook page)