DREAMERS ARE MULTIPLIERS OF VISIONARIES
A Call to Future Leaders by Datu Pugawang and Bai Kasunayan
We call ourselves dreamers. Dreamers are those who carry the wisdom of experience, often elders or senior citizens, who multiply visionaries by nurturing, mentoring, and grounding them in deeper truths. Dreamers do not necessarily lead movements or organizations directly, but they multiply leaders by transmitting values, stories, and long-term perspectives. Dreamers see beyond their own lifetimes. Our task is to plant seeds of peace and justice that will continue to bear fruit through younger leaders. We remind visionaries that leadership must always be guided by compassion, integrity, and harmony with the Creator, with one’s being, with others, and with creation.
Dreamers Guide Humanity
Throughout history, dreamers have played this role across cultures. In many Indigenous societies, elders are the keepers of wisdom, such as the Kumiai of the Americas, the Māori kaumātua in Aotearoa (New Zealand), and the Babaylan of the Philippines, who guide their people with ancestral knowledge (Barrios, 2010; Mead, 2003). In Africa, figures like Nelson Mandela, even in his later years, served as a dreamer who inspired and multiplied a new generation of leaders beyond apartheid (Sampson, 2011). In Asia, Mahatma Gandhi’s later writings influenced countless postcolonial leaders (Parekh, 1997). In Europe, Václav Havel, after his presidency, became a dreamer for democratic values (Keane, 2011). Across the Middle East, elders in Bedouin and Druze traditions still function as dreamers by preserving communal wisdom (Shoup, 2007). Dreamers, in every culture, are multipliers of visionaries.
Visionaries are Multipliers of Movements
Visionaries, on the other hand, are often younger or middle-aged leaders who embody the energy to multiply movements or organizations. They take the dreams of the elders and translate them into concrete strategies, initiatives, and social transformations.
Visionaries mobilize people. They bring together passion and clarity of purpose to create movements that shape society. They are innovators, entrepreneurs of justice, and catalysts of systemic change.
History provides many examples. Martin Luther King Jr. was a visionary whose leadership multiplied the civil rights movement in the United States (Branch, 1988). Wangari Maathai, through the Green Belt Movement in Kenya, multiplied ecological and social justice initiatives (Maathai, 2004). José Rizal of the Philippines envisioned a nation of dignity and independence, inspiring the revolution against Spanish colonialism (Agoncillo, 1990). In Latin America, Paulo Freire’s visionary approach to education multiplied global movements for liberation pedagogy (Freire, 1970). Malala Yousafzai, as a young visionary, multiplied the global movement for girls’ education (Yousafzai, 2013).
Visionaries are multipliers of movements, and without them, dreams remain abstract. But without dreamers, visionaries risk becoming rootless and disconnected from deeper wisdom.
Our Shared Dream
As Datu Pugawang and Bai Kasunayan, we embrace our calling as dreamers. Our vision is to nurture, mentor, and release a new generation of visionaries who will embody peace with justice, inclusive development, and reconciliation across cultures. We are convinced that the future of our people, and of the nations, rests in the partnership between dreamers and visionaries.
We issue this call: If you are a young or middle-aged leader sensing a stirring in your heart to lead with compassion, justice, and integrity — we invite you to walk with us. Let us dream together, let us envision together, and let us multiply movements of peace and hope together.
This is our covenant. This is our shared mission. Dreamers are multipliers of visionaries. Visionaries are multipliers of movements. And together, we can embody the Creator’s dream of shalom.
References
Agoncillo, T. A. (1990). History of the Filipino people (8th ed.). R.P. Garcia Publishing.
Barrios, J. (2010). The babaylan tradition in the Philippines. Ateneo de Manila University Press.
Branch, T. (1988). Parting the waters: America in the King years 1954–1963. Simon & Schuster.
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Herder and Herder.
Keane, J. (2011). Václav Havel: A political tragedy in six acts. Basic Books.
Maathai, W. (2004). The green belt movement: Sharing the approach and the experience. Lantern Books.
Mead, H. M. (2003). Tikanga Māori: Living by Māori values. Huia Publishers.
Parekh, B. (1997). Gandhi: A very short introduction. Oxford University Press.
Sampson, A. (2011). Mandela: The authorized biography. HarperCollins.
Shoup, J. A. (2007). Culture and customs of Syria. Greenwood Press.
Yousafzai, M. (2013). I am Malala: The girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban. Little, Brown and Company.
