NSPC 2023 opens in Cagayan de Oro after two-year hiatus

Campus journalists recite the journalist’s creed during the opening ceremony of the 2023 National Schools Press Conference (NSPC) in Cagayan de Oro City. PHOTO BY SAMUEL YAP

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Around 5,000 delegates from all around the Philippines gathered in Cagayan de Oro City for the 2023 National Schools Press Conference (NSPC), marking the return of the prestigious in-person competition after two years of hiatus amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Anchored on the theme “From Campus Journalism to Real-World Journalism: Shaping Minds from Schools to Societies,” the Department of Education (DepEd)’s Division of Cagayan de Oro, along with the Region X office is hosting the week-long event from July 17 to 21.

The city division was supposed to host the national tilt in 2021, but was canceled following DepEd’s directive on suspending crowd-drawing events; the department held an online training-workshop edition instead.

A man carries a symbolic “torch” for the lighting of the Urn of Unity and Friendship during the 2023 NSPC-NFOT opening ceremony. PHOTO BY SAMUEL YAP

Representing Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte for the keynote message, Undersecretary Gina Gonong shared an appreciation to campus journalists for the depth of their passion in shedding light to important issues. She highlighted the essence of responsible journalism by “upholding high standards of accuracy, objectivity, integrity, with emphasis on accountability.”

Dubbed as the “Olympics of Campus Journalism,” young campus journos from public and private elementary and secondary schools will compete in individual events, which include news, feature, editorial, sports, copyreading and headline writing, science and technology, photojournalism, editorial cartooning, and column writing.

Group events will also be conducted like radio scriptwriting and broadcasting, TV scriptwriting and broadcasting, collaborative desktop publishing, and online publishing.

Meanwhile, mobile journalism, which is set to be an added event in the coming years, will be introduced as a concurrent session.

Delegates from Western Visayas cheer for their region during the roll call of participants. PHOTO BY SAMUEL YAP

NSPC is held annually pursuant to Republic Act 7079 or the Campus Journalism Act of 1991, which promotes the growth and development of campus press. It will be conducted simultaneously with the National Festival of Talents (NFOT) in Northern Mindanao this year.

In an interview with DepEd regional director Arturo Bayocot, he said that this is the first time that the two national events are combined into one staging. “This used to be separate, adjacent cities, but now we’re doing it here,” he added.

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