To make students understand the factors involved in improving society, the Archers for UNICEF (AU) held a one-day forum dubbed EducACTION 2019 last March 30 at the Natividad Fajardo-Rosario Gonzales Auditorium. In its intention to be an equal platform for learning, the event carried the theme Advocates for a Unified Tomorrow. Highlighting the reduction of poverty and inequalities, it featured four guests who have been part of social improvement efforts.
Revolutionizing education
Opening the morning half was Mara Eala—the Chief Innovation Officer of award-winning tutorial program The Ultimate Learning Accelerator (TULA) Philippines—who looked into the notion of “why education won’t solve the poverty problem.”
Labeling the issue “poverty problem”, Eala shared her analysis on the social concern at hand, saying that it is an oversimplification and that people only see the surface of the problem. “If you look one step below [the observable aspect], you will notice that this stems from what I call the ‘sachet mentality’,” she relayed, explaining that the term refers to the tendency of people to not pay anything that cannot be paid upfront. This manifests in their preference for prepaid over postpaid, sachets over bulk, and installments over whole payments, Eala cited. She further posited that this emerges from a “scarcity mindset,” where people only focus on their immediate needs.
Eala then moved on to clarify that it is not education per se that is incapable of solving poverty, but rather it is the current education system. Emphasizing that a particular set of skills are needed for the 21st century, she pointed out, “The problem is that in our current system, schools don’t prepare students for [such skills].” She further added that they tend to put more focus on grades and academics instead of a more holistic education.
She asserted that a 21st century education is one that allows students to thrive and survive in the current era, which, according to Eala, is what TULA does. The enterprise follows an education model founded on four pillars, one of which is the curriculum. Through this, they are able to implement a course of study that not only is benchmarked by the Department of Education and based on the American, Singaporean, and Australian education systems but also gives much importance to the development of character, attitudes, skills, and knowledge.
She, however, noted, “There is no one-size-fits-all solution to education, poverty, [and] inequality.” The center is only one of several Philippines-based educational programs, with others such as Aha!, Habi Education Lab, and Silid Aralan also operating in the country. Likewise, in the open forum that followed, she expressed her belief that the educational revolution will be driven by the private sector through non-government organizations and corporate social responsibility.
Destigmatizing mental illness
Putting forward her advocacy for mental health awareness, Dr. Gia Sison, who serves as a consultant for the World Health Organization, gave her discussion on removing the stigma around psychological illnesses, which she admitted was something that had to be dealt with.
She traced the existence of stigma all the way to ancient times, when the mentally ill had their skulls pierced to release what they thought were bad spirits, and even during the medieval times when people would conduct witch-hunts. Until now, she said, patients on medications are still judged by their peers. “Kung tutuusin, stigma has a lot of faces,” she remarked.
(If you think about it, stigma has a lot of faces).
Sison explained that stigmatization is not just a product of cognitive processes and biases, but it is also perpetuated by social inequality, later pointing out that this is related to public perception and is fueled by media portrayals. She contrasted this to a vision of equality, where people are not labelled but are instead accepted as persons or individuals whose identities are respected.
She warned that stigma may lead to poorer mental health outcomes, less opportunities, and reduced access to services. To counter this, she proposed a few measures that ought to address the problem. Among these were reframing and normalizing the conversation on mental health.
Sison maintained, “The mental health advocacy will never fly if we dwell on stigma [and] if we’re still scared of [it].” She similarly proclaimed that the best measure was to “walk the talk” and tell people that having mental illness should not elicit discrimination.
She also pushed for immersive interaction with those who have mental health problems, encouraging her audience to try to talk to them when given the chance in order to see that they are just like normal people. She claimed that engaging in conversation with them allows one to understand their “deepest need” and most “vulnerable emotion.”
Other ways to be engaged in the advocacy, according to Sison, are adopting a “people first” approach and being conscientious in using mental health terms.
Youth’s role against corruption
At the start of the afternoon session, Kevin Craig Tan, who is currently part of the Policy and Legislation Team under the Office of Senator Risa Hontiveros and was himself the University Student Government Legislative Assembly minority floor leader in 2015, tackled on the state of corruption in the Philippines and what a student can do to alleviate it.
Tan cited that the country ranked 111 out of 180 countries in terms of the Corruption Perception Index in 2017—it has since risen to 99th in 2018—and the Philippine’s business confidence is down by almost 10 percent, meaning less investments come in as a consequence of perceived government corruption. He also narrated the corruption cases that he and his team had investigated, saying, “If no one speaks out against it, it will keep on going and punish society, especially the marginalized.”
As a way for the youth to change the political landscape, Tan encouraged the students present to pursue a career that would do the most good; vote wisely in the upcoming elections; watch and be updated with the latest news; and try to connect with ordinary citizens, which he explained can be done by opting to commute to school. “If you stay in your comfort zone, you’re just helping corruption cement itself in our country,” Tan stated.
Inclusion of children with special needs
The last talk of the forum was with Best Buddies Philippines country director Michelle Aventajado explaining the importance of inclusion of children with special needs in educational institutions, and sharing the programs that Best Buddies are conducting to help the mentally challenged youth secure a bright future.
Aventajado highlighted that in the Philippines, out of 2,300 colleges, only 10 accept people with disabilities, especially those with intellectual or developmental disability (IDD). She stressed the importance of education and having a healthy social life, citing that these individuals with special needs often interact with medical personnel rather than a friend with the same interests.
The remainder of the talk discussed the programs being conducted by Best Buddies Philippines to help people with IDD. Aventajado explained a few of the programs that they offer such as the one-to-one commitment, where a volunteer will befriend a person with IDD; awareness campaigns against hurtful language; and trainings for leadership and employment readiness.
To conclude the day, Aventajado left a reminder to the participants that though common words associated to inclusion like acceptance, care and openness are important, “the first step for further inclusion is awareness.”
