The 15th Lasallian Scholarum Awards (LSA), with the theme New Dimension: Youth and Education in Focus, was held last July 22 at the fifth floor of Henry Sy Sr. Hall. For over 15 years, LSA has become a platform for recognizing and honoring media coverage on youth and education. With over a hundred entries, four articles across different categories were awarded as winners.
Danielle Aglubat and Aileen Bautista from The LaSallian won the outstanding published feature article on youth and education in a school organ for their work titled, A Lasallian startup success story: Gero Tan Seng’s solar energy.
Regine Cabato’s piece for CNN Philippines, Filipino public school teachers speak up on underpayment, won the outstanding online feature on youth and education award.
Meanwhile, Krixia Subingsubing from Philippine Daily Inquirer won the outstanding published feature article on youth and education in a nationally circulated publication for her article, Valenzuela youths top targets of ‘Oplan Tokbuk’.
Lastly, Sara Grace Fojas from Manila Bulletin won the outstanding published feature story on De La Salle University for her article, Letting them play, which highlights DLSU’s For The Kids activities.
The winners were given a sculpture by Abdulmari “Toym” Imao Jr., a nationally renowned artist who had previously worked on the sculpture of St. John Baptist de La Salle at the DLSU Laguna Campus. The sculpture, Unfolding, reflects a “flight of ideas” coming out of a box with the five senses etched on the side.
Selection process
The entries for the LSA were completely merit-based, and were taken from works published between May 2017 to May 2018. These entries were screened by Isentia, an independent media monitoring company. Entries were taken from print, web-based media, blogs, and student publications.
After the articles were screened, they were then submitted to the internal screening committee, who decided on the final list of entries. The committee is composed of Dr. Genevieve Asenjo, Palanca Award recipient and Chair of the Literature Department; Dr. Jose Victor Torres, Palanca Award recipient, National Book Award winner, and faculty member of the History Department; and Fritzie De Vera, Vice President for Lasallian Mission.
After the submissions went through internal screening, the judges then chose a winner among the finalists. The judges for this year’s LSA were Jamela Aisha Alindogan, current president of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines and South East Asia Correspondent of Al Jazeera; Nelca Villarin, Dean of Student Affairs; Henry Motte-Muñoz, founder and CEO of Edukasyon.ph; Natalie Christine Jorge, executive director of Bato Balani Foundation, Inc.; and Br. Aikee Esmeli FSC from the House of Studies of the De La Salle Brothers Lasallian East Asia District.
Journalism at the forefront
DLSU President Br. Raymundo Suplido FSC stated in his opening remarks that the common mission shared by the media is to “teach minds, touch hearts, and transform minds.” LSA was envisioned to acknowledge quality work by practitioners, he asserted, and serves as a call to “ignite the passion for all to do more in the next generation.”
With the emergence of the internet, he also expressed how journalists are facing challenges in terms of credibility and relevance. Despite this, Esmeli, who also served as the keynote speaker, pointed out that journalists are still at the forefront and that they “run to where the story is, protect the truth, and make it known to the people.”
To further inspire media practitioners, Executive Director for the Office for Strategic Communications Johannes Leo Badillo introduced the Lasallian Scholarum Grant, a new initiative to support journalists on youth and education. Broadcast journalists who are interested in creating a non-fiction video that centers on youth and education in the Philippines will receive a seed fund of P100,000 and will be required to release a finished product on the 16th LSA. On the other hand, broadsheet or magazine journalists who wish to produce a full length feature concerning Philippine education sectors will be given a seed fund of P35,000 and will also be required to present the completed work by next year. Submissions, however, will first undergo a selection process before they are given the grant.
