MANILA, Philippines – Ateneo Assembly, the political organization of the Ateneo de Manila University, hosted an open forum and commentary on the President’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) on August 15. Dubbed “Face of the Nation”, the event–which is now on its second year–was held at the Rizal library on campus grounds.
This year’s lineup included notable speakers from sectors of government, civil society, and the academe. The invited panelists were Nicole Curato (Research Fellow from the University of Canberra), Ronald Holmes (President of Pulse Asia), Father Xavier Alpasa (Director of Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan) and Representative Dina Abad (Congresswoman from Batanes).
A survey by Ateneo Statistics Circle (A-Stat) determined which issues in the Sona resonated most with Ateneans. The discussion centered mostly on the areas of Agrarian Reform, Freedom of Information, the Disbursement Acceleration Program, Disaster Preparedness, and finally, the 2016 Presidential Elections.
The panelists drew from experiences in their respective disciplines to provide some perspectives on both responsible citizenship and governance. This was followed by an interactive segment where the audience asked questions to the panelists through the open microphone stands or through Twitter. The critical questions that were asked showed how the youth were actively engaged in politics. A little over 300 students, faculty, and staff attended the event.
The Ateneo Assembly extends its gratitude to everyone who made the event possible. “We hope to see you again next year for what is sure to be a bigger and more inclusive discussion on the State of our Nation,” says the team.
“Face of the Nation” was awarded breakthrough project of the year for school year 2013-2014 by the Council of Organizations of the Ateneo (COA).