FOLLOW US
Filipino Educators Join ‘Peace Talks’ Webinar on Values Education
Written by UPF-Philippines
Thursday, August 27, 2020
Manila, Philippines—UPF-Philippines, in collaboration with the Professor’s World Peace Academy (PWPA), held its fifth “Peace Talks” webinar on August 27, 2020, on the theme, "A Vision for World Peace: The Need for Universal Values." Also partnering with UPF on the virtual event were the Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP) and the International Association of Youth and Students for Peace (IAYSP).
This is the first time the chapter was invited to educate faculty and staff of a college institution, the Buenavista Community College (BCC), Bohol, since the “Peace Talks” webinar series began this year. This webinar provided an avenue to discuss universal values and principles and the need to inculcate them in the values education program in the Philippines through the “Good Manners and Right Conduct and Values Education Act.”
Seventy-three educators joined the event live via Zoom and Facebook. To date, the webinar has been viewed 632 times and shared 23 times on Facebook.
Dr. Robert S. Kittel, international chair of Youth and Students for Peace and education director of UPF-Asia Pacific, gave the keynote message. He emphasized the necessity for universal values and principles. He continued, speaking about the dual purpose and pair system principles, two fundamental principles of peace. Then, he cited the problem of modern education focusing more on education to be smart than on education to be good. He underlined that the essence of goodness is living for the sake of others and that the essence of true love is honoring the man-woman relationship through marriage. These two principles act as the pillars and beams for nation-building. He also talked about UPF-Philippines’ educational initiatives focused on the Values Education Act and encouraged everyone to develop an outcome-based values education that applies these principles to build a better nation through the youth.
Dr. Luisa L. Ninang, research and extension director at Buenavista Community College, warmly delivered the welcoming remarks on behalf of Dr. Analiza Chua, president of the college. She encouraged her colleagues to share the knowledge and values they learn from the webinar with their students.
Later on, Dr. Chua expressed her gratitude to UPF and the partner organizations of the event for giving the college the opportunity to educate their faculty and staff in order to impart these values to their students.
Dr. Venus G. Agustin, president of the PWPA, in his opening remarks, introduced PWPA as an international, interdisciplinary, practical/academic and future-oriented organization that aims to contribute to nation-building through the academic community.
Dr. Julius Malicdem, chairman of UPF-Philippines and sub-regional director of UPF-South East Asia, in his remarks, reminded everyone of the words of Filipino polymath Dr. Jose Rizal on how important it is to educate the youth, who are the hope for nation-building. He emphasized that the enactment of the Values Education Act is a stepping stone for nation-building, as it provides an opportunity for the education sector to reform character education and address current issues facing youth. He encouraged the participants to be the pillars of the community, together with UPF, PWPA and the partner organizations of the event, and raise peaceful citizens.
Dr. Raymundo P. Arcega is the president of the Association of Local Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation and the newly-elected chairman of the National Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Education. He is also the presidential advisor of the oversight committee on finance on all local government units in the country representing the Association of Local Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (ALCUCOA). He was scheduled to give the special remarks, however, he received a sudden call from Malacanang. Nevertheless, he expressed his support for UPF and for the event to be successful.
After the keynote message and Q&A session, two members of the faculty of Buenavista Community College shared their reflections on the event. They expressed their gratitude for the education they received through Dr. Kittel and agreed on the importance of universal values and sharing it with their students to build a better nation and world.
Mrs. Chona Lambojon, vice president for development at Buenavista Community College, in her closing remarks, said that the college will make sure to apply these values through institutionalizing this program and doing their best to educate its students to not just be smart but also to be good. She looks forward to the BCC working in partnership with UPF.
Ms. Merly Barlaan, president of WFWP-Philippines, moderated the event.
If you find this page helpful and informative please consider making donation. Your donation will help Universal Peace Federation (UPF) provide new and improved reports, analysis and publications to you and everyone around the world.
UPF is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization and all donations are tax deductible in the United States. Receipts are automatically provided for donations of or above $250.00.
|
Donate to the Universal Peace Federation: Your donation to support the general programs of UPF. |
Donate to the Religious Youth Service (RYS): Your donation will be used for service projects around the world. |
Donate to UPF's Africa Projects: Your donation will be used for projects in Africa. |