IIE goes to Davao

(SEATED) Al-ag, Garcia and Villanueva; (standing) JCI members Andrei Kasilag, Girald Ching, Shandy Sy, Mox Esperat, Roderick Lim, David de la Serna, Carlan Tungpalan and Francis de Guzman

On the “eve” of the golden anniversary of its flagship education initiative, the annual Search for the Most Outstanding High School Graduate (MOHSG), the Junior Chamber International Davao chapter (JCI Davao) decided to do more than just honor the city’s best and brightest, and help some of the city’s teachers and campus journalists and their advisers be the best they can be.

With the Inquirer in Education (IIE) and the Inquirer business development office in the city, JCI Davao organized two journalism workshops.

The first, a workshop developing critical thinking through news literacy, was attended by 31 teachers, representing 19 public and private high schools. It was held at Lispher Inn. The next day, 83 young journalists from 31 schools, joined by 15 campus paper advisers, attended a whole-day workshop on news writing, feature writing, copy editing and general editing at D’Leonor Hotel.

TEACHERS who attended the first day workshop are shown with JCI Davao’s Francis and Chrislyn de Guzman, Jody Ledesma, Shandy Sy, David de la Serna and Karl Sumbeling.

JCI Davao president Bernard Al-ag said all the new knowledge the participants acquired from the workshops would be of “great help in the future, [particularly for the students] who could become government officials or business executives.”

JCI Philippines president Christine Garcia, who was in Davao City on the second day of the workshops, said the students were fortunate that the local chapter “is working to empower you so you can be future leaders.”

She said JCI, one of the biggest global nonpolitical and nonsectarian youth service organizations,   believed that to create positive change, people should improve themselves first. The international organization, she added, believed not only in empowering its members but the youth as well.

MOHSG, the Davao flagship program that will mark its 50th anniversary next year, aims to help the youth become better citizens so they can help form better communities, she said. Students who participated in MOHSG, she said, could inspire other youths and lead in seeking ways to improve society.

The annual MOHSG aims to recognize young high school students for their scholastic accomplishments and give importance to educational institutions as molders of future leaders. The awarding for the 2014 MOHSG will be held on March 19, 1 to 7 p.m., at Davao’s Abreeza Ayala Mall.

YOUNG campus journalists and their advisers, with JCI members Louel Zambrano, Chrislyn and Francis de Guzman, and Andrei Kasilag

The group that organized the workshops was composed of this year’s MOHSG committee chair Francis de Guzman, Chrislyn de Guzman, Jody Ledesma, Shandy Sy, David de la Serna, Karl Sumbeling, Girald Ching, Lyndon Cabahug, Benedict Gonzales, Clyde Hong, Mox Esperat, Louel Zambrano, Roderick Lim, Carlan Tungpalan, Al-ag and Franco Santos. Aside from Garcia, regional JCI vice president Heidi Villanueva and Cherry Al-ag also attended.

Support was extended by Davao AB Printers, Nanay Bebeng Seafood Grill & Restaurant, Marco Polo Hotel Davao and Casa Leticia Hotel. Other partners, aside from the Philippine Daily Inquirer, were the Department of Education, STI College, Globe Telecom, ABS-CBN, APM Ads & Promo, Abreeza Ayala Mall, NCCC Mall of Davao and SM Science Center.