Hot Off the Presses: QT 11.1!

The first issue of Quality Teacher magazine for 2007 is already available and examines the reading and writing culture in the Philippines. This installment of QT also features the following articles:

1. A Need for Knowledge
2. English Teachers are in Good Hands
3. Is English the Answer? Bilingual Education Policy Meets EO210
4. Medium of Instruction for the Philippine Educational System: English or Filipino? (Wikang Panturo sa Sistema ng Edukasyon sa Pilipinas: Ingles o Filipino?)
5. Reading and Writing: Symbiotic?
6. The Language of Science and Mathematics
7. Students Here and Abroad are Biting into the English Craze
8. Pinoy’s Edge in English Lost?…Or Found at Last

For subscription inquiries and more information about the magazine, kindly send an email to bbfi@diwamail.com or qteacher@diwamail.com, or leave a comment below.

CSR Expo ‘07: Day 3 Recap

The last day of the Expo focused on a new LCF program for CSR: protecting the environment. Although environmental programs have always been prominent in the activities of a majority of the LCF members, it has been given special focus this year because of the growing concern over the impact that globalization has on the environment. Featured activities and presentations for the day were composed of the following:

A plenary session on the successful blend of nature and tourism with Verde Island being the primary case. Located in Batangas and rich in natural resources, the Verde Island Resort development was created to complement the surrounding nature. In turn, it has been tagged as the “The Center of the World’s Biodiversity”.

Break out sessions that featured “How to’s” on developing environmental programs through success stories. A forum on proper waste management provided companies with alternatives to recycling and diverting waste with emphasis on the need to create proper waste disposal measures as part of doing business. Chit Juan, President of Figaro Coffee Company and the Figaro Foundation likewise presented their company’s vision for protecting the environment. Other break-out sessions were more specific in terms of their focus such as water preservation and protection, supply chain management, urban planning and the environment, and clean air.

A special Green Lunch fundraising activity for the LCF’s Green Fund. Former DENR Secretary Elisea Gozun moderated this lunch plenary, which featured an eye-opening Philippine perspective on the film An Inconvenient Truth, presented by the World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines.

The closing plenary and wrap-up session led by LCF Chair Roberto Calingo, with the Figaro Foundation’s Chit Juan providing the integration for the final day’s activities.

The much awaited yearly raffle for LCF members and guests of course!

Links:
[Day 1 Recap]
[Day 2 Recap]

CSR Expo ‘07: Day 2 Recap

Compared to the first-day’s CEO focus, the second day of the 2007 CSR Expo was more hands-on with more intimate break-out sessions delving even deeper into the nuts and bolts of CSR practice. As many of these were occurring simultaneously (with only so many of us to go around!), here’s a look at what transpired during day two from a uniquely BBFI perspective:

Sustainability reporting over breakfast: GRI’s Ralph Thrum returned to give a more detailed presentation on sustainability reporting, while Anne Copeland Chiu delivered a complementary perspective on the IFC’s implementation of the GRI approach.

The LCF’s newly launched CSR Institute of the Philippines held its first activity by way of a session on CSR Theory and Practice, which featured a tag-team presentation by LCF President Bobby Calingo, Sarmiento Foundation President Lydia Sarmiento and Bato Balani Foundation’s Director for Research Ching Jorge.

Ayala Foundation Chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala offered his perspectives on creating a corporate social vision during the much-anticipated luncheon plenary.

Afternoon breakout sessions helped give participants a better understanding of the LCF’s new 57-75 Campaign to Reverse the Crisis in Education. Of particular interest was the “retrofitting” exercise chaired by the ABS-CBN Foundation’s Gerry de Asis, which featured case studies of the Petron Foundation’s Tulong-Aral program and the Ortigas Foundation’s similar endeavors. The case studies highlighted how both initiatives adapted and changed in order to become more effective at achieving their desired goals.

An education-oriented breakout session on consortium building featured ICT initiatives whose public, private and community partnerships have a large part to play in their past/present/forthcoming success: Gilas, AMORE and the Cyber Ed initiative of DepEd

With so many students dropping by, there was no better time for the Coke Barkada’s festive RockEd Night.

Links:
[Day 1 Recap]
[Day 3 Recap]

CSR Expo ‘07: Day 1 Recap

The League of Corporate Foundations was “all-systems-go” and hit the ground running for the CSR Expo 2007 at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza.

For those unable to attend, here’s a back-of-the-envelope rundown of the first day’s highlights:

The LCF turned over their CSR Roadmaps for Education and the Environment to Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who in her keynote address emphasized the importance of environmental issues to her administration and recognized the LCF’s education-oriented efforts in improving the state of Philippine education.

Chris Thomas, the World Bank’s Sector Manager for Education in East Asia and the Asia Pacific, stressed the developmental benefits for investing in education and identified the Philippines’ key challenge in this regard as improving secondary school enrollment rates. From a Philippine perspective, DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus offered a survey of successful public and private sector partnerships for education and zeroed in on the need to bring such efforts to scale, using the Department’s Cyber Ed initiative as an example of a means to do so.

In keeping with the spirit of the CSR Roadmap for the Environment, former DENR Secretary Elisea Gozun spoke on the country’s pressing environmental concerns: while the Philippines is considered among the megadiverse areas of the world, it remains one of the hotspots for habitat destruction globally. She emphasized, however, that great strides have already been made with private-sector and community-based support, as evinced by successful reforestation projects across the country. Further, the former Environment Secretary opined that the key to sustaining these efforts lies in further educating the public about environmental issues.

Juan Miguel Luz, President of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction, chaired a plenary session on Strategic CSR, with PLDT-Smart Foundation Chairman Manuel Pangilinan, Ambassador to the UK and former DTI Secretary Cesar Bautista, and Pilipinas Shell Foundation Chairman Edgar Chua as discussants. Mr. Pangilinan discussed how the PLDT-SMART Foundation supports microentrepreneurs in a manner that complements the business strategies of its mother companies. Amb. Bautista made the case for CSR from the standpoint of Global Competitiveness and as a means of complementing government-oriented economic reforms. Mr. Chua’s insights, from a European company perspective, centered on integrating CSR into the DNA of a company.

On behalf of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), Philippine Ambassador to the United States Albert del Rosario presented the MAP’s forthcoming Recognition Program for Responsible Business, which hopes to have its first batch of honorees in a year’s time.

Petron President Khalid Al-Faddagh presented the Guimaras case as an example of Stakeholder Engagement during an afternoon plenary session.

Sarmiento Foundation President Lydia Sarmiento presided over the launch of the CSR Institute of the Philippines, the LCF’s flagship program. Discussions followed during the same session: De La Salle University Professor Ben Teehankee elucidated on the academe’s interest in CSR as a field of study, while presentations on sustainability reporting were made by Ralph Thrum, Chief Operating Officer of the Global Reporting Initiative, and Anne Copeland Chiu of the International Finance Corporation. These sessions were moderated by BBFI’s own Ching Jorge in her capacity as LCF Chair for Research.

Links:
[Day 2 Recap]
[Day 3 Recap]

The Many Faces of the Teacher 2007: Honorees Selected!

On July 6, 2007, Bato Balani convened an Advocacy Review Board to deliberate upon and select the honorees for 2007’s The Many Faces of the Teacher campaign.

Now in its fourth year, The Many Faces is an advocacy program that aims to extol the virtues of teaching by identifying role models in the teaching profession who can inspire their fellow educators to excellence. While many teacher-oriented programs seek to recognize teachers for their skill and dedication to their craft, what sets Many Faces apart is that it strives to identify leaders who happen to be teachers, individuals that make a difference not just to their students but to their local communities as well.

To aid in the selection process, BBFI invited leading figures in education and corporate social responsibility to participate in the Advocacy Review Board. Joining BBFI Chairman Saturnino G. Belen Jr. were Juan Miguel Luz, former DepEd Undersecretary and current President of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction; Lydia Sarmiento, President of the Sarmiento Foundation; Marge Barro, Executive Director of the League of Corporate Foundations; and Oman Jiao, Executive Director of the Association of Foundations.

The selection marks the end of a nationwide search for outstanding Filipino teachers that began in January of this year. From the submitted nominations, BBFI staff prepared a short list of twelve candidates who represented the “cream of the crop” of nominees. Interviews with the twelve, their students and colleagues, together with impressions from visits to their schools and communities by BBFI staff, informed the Advocacy Review Board’s deliberations leading up to the final selection of honorees.

The Bato Balani Foundation will unveil the identities of the honorees when The Many Faces of the Teacher kicks off its mass media campaign in August. Further, they will be given special recognition at A Tribute to Teachers, the largest gathering of teachers and educators in the Philippines, taking place this September.

Partnership: Pathways to Higher Education

In pursuit of continually upgrading the quality of education for Filipino students, Pathways to Higher Education (Pathways) and Bato Balani Foundation Inc. (BBFI) entered into a partnership to establish a Pathways program at the First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities (FAITH).

Based at the Ateneo de Manila University, Pathways undertakes activities geared toward assisting underprivileged students to attain a more productive future through education. In this light, both BBFI and Pathways are committed to develop a pilot program to provide support services to academically-gifted but financially-disadvantaged students outside of Manila. This will involve teacher and staff training, development of training and seminar manuals, as well as the implementation and coordination of other Pathways programs.

This first Pathways program outside of Manila will be established at FAITH. Located in Tanauan City, Batangas, the Pathways program at FAITH also aims to serve nearby cities and municipalities.

BBFI @ CSR Expo 2007!

The Bato Balani Foundation will be an exhibitor in the 2007 Corporate Social Responsibility Expo (CSR Expo) this July 16-18, 2007 at the Sofitel (formerly Westin) Philippine Plaza .

The annual CSR Expo, an undertaking of the over 80-member strong League of Corporate Foundations (LCF), began as a showcase of members’ efforts in corporate philanthropy and has grown into a venue for engendering greater awareness of and interest in CSR. Last year’s Expo — which saw the unveiling of the LCF’s Roadmap for Education — echoed the LCF’s rallying cry of “Let’s Take CSR to Heart.” The 2007 Expo takes a further step in this direction with the theme “Putting CSR to the Test: Cultivating Shared Values for Business and Society.”

Aside from participating members’ exhibits, the 2007 CSR Expo will also feature plenary sessions with the leading voices of Philippine corporate social responsibility as well as the launch of the Corporate Social Responsibility Institute and its CSR101 campaign, the LCF’s new flagship program.

With preparations for the event already underway, the BBFI staff have been working doubly hard to help make this year’s Expo a success.

[The 2007 CSR Expo (League of Corporate Foundations)]