According to the lecture abstract on Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL) or the Writers’ Union of the Philippines Facebook page “Literary Studies are having trouble keeping afloat in some major universities. Literary titles are being edged out of the shelves of the main bookstore chain in the country. Magazines that include stories and essays are now available only online. Commercial publishers are turning down literary titles unless they have a clearly identified market. Even academic publishers are experiencing some problems justifying the publication of literary titles, which are so slow-moving that they clog up storage space. Will there be any space in the near future for the practice and study of literature?”

Hidalgo is the author of several autobiographical travel books, novels, and books of literary criticism focusing on women’s literature. She has also edited literary anthologies, as well as pioneered creative nonfiction in the country. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy (1964), magna cum laude, and Master of Arts degree in Literature (1967) meritissimus from the ���ϲ�ֱ������. She later received a doctorate in Comparative Literature from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1993.

Currently, she serves as the director of the ���ϲ�ֱ������ Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies (���ϲ�ֱ������- CCWLS) The Adrian Cristóbal Lecture Series was established by the Cristóbal family, in collaboration with the
Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL) or the Writers’ Union of the Philippines.

It aims to honor the intellectual legacy of the late fictionist, playwright, essayist, satirist, newspaper columnist, and former UMPIL chair whose name the series carries.
In this annual event, a renowned Filipino intellectual delivers a keynote speech on a topic related to a current socio-political condition in the country or a cultural development. Past lecturers include Gemino Abad (2011), National Artist Virgilio Almario (2012), National Artist Resil Mojares (2013), Reynaldo Ileto (2014), Solita Monsod (2015), Marites Vitug (2016), Alfred Yuson (2017), and Soledad Reyes (2018).

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As a student, he was a constant participant and winner of various art competitions, such as the prestigious Metrobank’s Young Painters’ Annual Exhibition and the Art Association of the Philippines
National Painting Competition. However, Paul had to leave the University to pursue further his craft. Chasing after his dream was no easy feat. Under the terrible heat of the sun, he carried his
paintings around Manila and went in and out of banks to sell them. To earn money, he focused more on liturgical arts and made paintings, murals, sculptures and stained glass designs for churches
across the country. He also went to the Mountain Province to live with the Ifugaos and immersed himself with their culture to complete a project with the Veterans’ Museum. His projects kept on
coming but he still was not able to live a comfortable life.

In 2002, Paul married his high school sweetheart and migrated to Chicago, USA with just $5 in his pocket. He worked as a waiter, forklift operator, and mailman to provide for his family. Even if he
was busy providing for his family, Paul found time to paint. After work, he would go to a park and stay for hours to paint. After four years of juggling his work, family, and passion, he was able to finish his
18 x 24 feet painting where he interpreted the Philippine National Anthem. This paved the way for a more colourful life as his art pieces made waves across the U.S. He was supported by the Philippine
Historical Society in the U.S. and his painting was featured in places like the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., and Consulate General of the Philippines in Chicago.

His stint as an artist continued as Paul was encouraged by his wife to join the Artistic Infusion Program of the U.S. Mint in 2008, an exclusive artistic pool that consisted of designers, engravers,
sculptors, painters and other visual artists who were contracted to create and submit coin and medal designs for the Mint. Paul was given a spot in the program although at the onset, he did not expect to
be chosen because he knew that this was not his line of work. To prepare for this challenge, he went all over the States to immerse himself with the place and the culture and drew as much designs as he
could.

Every year, the Mint would open numerous projects for artists like Paul. Coin and medal designs of the artists would undergo rigorous screening and evaluation before being chosen. Most of
the time, Paul’s work would be included in the shortlists like his PACEM design in the Japanese Mint’s International Coin Design Competition in 2012. By the year 2013, his Statue of Liberty award-
winning design for the National Humanities Medal was recognized and unveiled by the former President Barack Obama in an annual White House ceremony. In 2015, he was recognized for his
obverse and reverse designs for the Code Talkers Recognition Congressional Medals Programs, for his gold reverse design in the U.S. Marshals Service 225 th Anniversary Commemorative Coin
Program, and for his silver obverse design in the March of Dimes Silver Dollar Commemorative Coin.

In 2016, Paul was acknowledged for his reverse coin design in the American Eagle Platinum Proof Coin Program. His reverse coin design for America the Beautiful Quarters Program was also given
recognition in 2018. This year, 2019, his designs for the $5 reverse gold coin and $1 obverse silver coin were chosen for commemoration of the 100 th Anniversary of the American Legion. The said one
dollar and five dollar coins are in active circulation this year.

When not drawing designs for coins, Paul paints and sculpts in his free time. Over the years, he has created 30 paintings and four bronze sculptures that were showcased in an exhibition held in
December 2018 at the RE Vision Art Gallery in Wisconsin, USA.

Paul is living the dream he pursued for almost three decades. The young man who left the University some 28 years ago, still has vivid memories of valuable life lessons he learned from the
institution. “’Yung determinasyon, ‘yung mga natutunan ko sa mga propesor ko, ‘yung pagiging matiyaga at pagiging dedikado sa aming trabaho… Natutunan ko lahat sa ���ϲ�ֱ������,” (The determination, the
teachings of my professors, and the perseverance… I’ve learned it all from ���ϲ�ֱ������,) says Paul.

Paul is currently working on some designs for the US Mint and is collaborating with a writer for the book of his Philippine National Anthem painting. He is also working with the Office of Alumni
Relations for the new design of the Thomasian Alumni Jubilarian medals that would be unveiled later this year.

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The Kathmandu University School of Education in collaboration with the UNESCO Chair in Adult Literacy based in the School of Education for Lifelong Learning of the University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom organized the conference.

With the theme, “Context-Responsive Wisdom and Knowledge for Sustainable Futures,” the conference brought together scholars, researchers, and practitioners providing them with opportunities to share their perspectives on local wisdom and knowledge in education. The conference also aimed to create collaboration among educators, community developers, leaders and researchers across the globe to work toward strengthening social justice and eco-responsive sustainable approaches in education and educational leadership.

Drawing from the work of Paulo Freire on progressive education combined with participatory research methodology, Lontoc’s study engaged the Bajau participants in critical reflection of their situation and in discussions of ways on how they address the issues in their community.

Through photo narratives, members of the focus group were given the opportunity to act as agents of social change by communicating their views on the issues affecting their communities.

By using these photos, along with the stories behind these images, participants reflected on social issues such as human rights, with particular emphasis on education, migration, capacity-building, and community participation.

The study also provided new perspectives on debates in internal displacement and indigenous people’s education.

The paper presentation was funded by the ���ϲ�ֱ������ under the Research Center for Social Sciences and Education (RCSSEd). Along with other representatives from partner universities of the UEA-UNESCO Chair Programme, including the UNESCO chair herself, Prof. Anna Robinson-Pant, Lontoc presented the findings of her research which explored how Bajau youth understand and communicate their sociocultural identities within the context of formal education.

There were more than 200 abstracts submitted for the conference which includes presentation formats such as oral presentations, posters, and workshop sessions.

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Spearheaded by the Philippine Society for Freshwater Science (PSFS), the summit was made possible through the cooperation of the ���ϲ�ֱ������ Department of Biological Sciences, University of the Philippines – Diliman Institute of Biology, National Fisheries Development and Research Institute, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Region 4A.

According to Tawilis Summit Organizing Committee Chair Prof. Rey Donne S. Papa, Ph.D., who also serves as Vice President of the PSFS and the Chair of the ���ϲ�ֱ������ Department of Biological Sciences, “This summit aims to share to the general public the most recent scientific information on Sardinella tawilis and Lake Taal which led to the declaration of Sardinella tawilis as an endangered species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).”

Tawilis, a freshwater sardine found exclusively in the Philippines, is the only known member of the genus Sardinella that can exist entirely in fresh water.

Keynote speaker Dr. Mudjekeewis Santos from the ���ϲ�ֱ������ Graduate School, who is also an Academician of the National Academy of Science and Technology, presented “The IUCN assessment of Sardinella tawilis as an endangered species,” of which he is the main author.

Other speakers included: Dr. Maria Theresa M. Mutia, who tackled “Tawilis fishery reserves and spawning grounds”; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jonas Quilang, who presented “Phylogeny of S. tawilis”; Assoc. Prof. Alicia Ely J. Pagulayan, who discussed “Reproductive biology of S. tawilis”; Prof. Rey Donne S. Papa, Ph.D., who talked about “Updates on the limno-ecological studies on Lake Taal”; and Atty. Ipat Luna, who explained “Management and conservation initiatives.”

A round table discussion followed with Prof. Roberto C. Pagulayan, Ph.D., as the rapporteur.
Discussants were: Asst. Prof. Dr. Francis Magbanua, Prof. Emeritus Dr. Macrina Zafaralla, Department of Environment and National Resources – 4A Regional Director Atty. Ma. Paz Luna, and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources – 4A Regional Director Wilfredo Cruz.
The whole-day event culminated with the reading of the PSFS Declaration, which summarized the key points of discussion from the various stakeholders and participants. From this summary, PSFS will come up with its official stand on the declaration of Sardinella tawilis as an endangered species, which will be submitted to the appropriate government agencies for their perusal.

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With the theme “Viewing the Shades of Love,” participants were given the opportunity to share their sentiments and ideas about love through visual art. Colleges and universities in and around Metro Manila were invited to send up to 25 fine arts students
each to compete in the oldest student art competition of its kind. The awarding ceremonies and exhibit opening were held later that same day at 6:00 p.m. at the Main
Building Lobby, where the winning works remained on exhibit until February 28, 2019.

Winning first place was “Kaleidoscope” by Steven John Natal from Bulacan State University. Second place was “(IN) COMPLETE” by Christian M. Casimiro from Far Eastern University and third place was “Home”
by Allan Dale Licaros from Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST). “Love Exists” by Christian Jame F. Maglente, who is also from EARIST, won the Metrobank Choice Award.
The first honorable mention was awarded to “Tunay na pagmamahal” by Warren L. Tanguilig of EARIST, while John Rowell N. Correa of Bulacan State University won the second honorable mention for his work “Sa kabila
ng pagsubok.” The third honorable mention was awarded to Louis Rafael L. Espinosa of ���ϲ�ֱ������ for his painting “Nothing is impossible.”

The winners received cash prizes, with gift items and gift certificates. The first prize winner received Php 40,000, the second prize winner took home Php 30,000, while the third prize winner collected Php 20,000.
The contest had its origins in 1941, when the University presented major art events that made a mark in Philippine Art History. Then Rector Magnificus, Rev. Fr. Silvestre Sancho, O.P., sponsored the First National
Art Competition, and an exhibition of all 93 participating entries was mounted at the University Gymnasium.

Some of the winners of the competition were eventually included in Prof. Victorio Edades’ list of young artists who showed modernist inclinations, known as the “13 Moderns.” They were: Vicente Manansala, Ricarte
Puruganan, Galo Ocampo, and Arsenio Capili. Edades himself was later declared a National Artist in 1976. In the years following the contest, the initiative of the First National Art Competition became the ���ϲ�ֱ������
Annual Inter-School On-the-Spot Painting Competition (OTSPC). This became one of the most anticipated campus activities participated in by Fine Arts Students in Metro Manila and nearby areas.

Several student winners of the ���ϲ�ֱ������ OTSPC are now celebrated names in the contemporary art scene, among them Ronald Ventura, Mark Salvatus, and Raffy Napay.

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The One Peso Challenge involves filling up the PET bottle with one peso coins to gather funds that will be used to assist in providing shelter, medical assistance, education, mobility aid, and other welfare services for people from Tahanang Walang Hagdan (TWH). The bottles entrusted to ���ϲ�ֱ������ were collected by ABS-CBN BMPM one week after the program launch.

At the program launch, ���ϲ�ֱ������ Office of Public Affairs Director Assoc. Prof. Giovanna V. Fontanilla, Ph.D., gave the welcome remarks and ABS-CBN BMPM Head Ms. Rowena Paraan delivered an overview of the “Share Your Love” Project.

���ϲ�ֱ������ Education High School Principal Asst. Prof. Leonila Wilhelmina N. Baltazar, and the Student Councils of the ���ϲ�ֱ������ Junior High School and the ���ϲ�ֱ������ Senior High School attended the turnover ceremony to represent their schools.

Through the 10th anniversary campaign project “Bike @10” of BMPM in 2017, the collection of the PET bottles began for the benefit of persons with disability from TWH.

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Held from February 8 to 9, 2019 at the Silliman University, Dumaguete City, the conference was a gathering of local knowledge researchers, partners, advocates, champions, and digital technology researchers, strategists, planners, and developers.

It was aimed at providing a unique forum to discuss the integration of local knowledge in higher education using information and communication technology (ICT). Moreover, the conference was a venue for AUDRN partners to share their research studies on the integration of local knowledge in the curriculum including Whole-Person Education.

The ���ϲ�ֱ������ is an active partner of the AUDRN.
Reyes presented his study titled “Mandated Blended Online Instruction: A Case Study on the
Affordances and Challenges of GenEd Filipino E-Learning Adoption at the ���ϲ�ֱ������.”

In his paper, Reyes presented how the new General Education Filipino 1 course offered by ���ϲ�ֱ������, titled Kontekstuwalisadong Komunikasyon sa Filipino (Contextualized Communication in Filipino), serves as a space for the discussion of local knowledge. He also talked about how such subject matter was delivered through the blended learning approach where the first meeting serves as a face-to-face encounter with students while the second one, through online instruction.

He also presented the challenges and solutions taken regarding the implementation of the blended online learning in terms of curriculum, human resources, and facilities.

According to Reyes, “there must be a dedicated course in the undergraduate curriculum for the
teaching of local knowledge. Filipino is the best course to handle this as language is the repository of one culture.”

Mandating online instruction is more effective in ensuring active implementation of Information and Communications Technology (ICT)-based instruction compared to making it optional. However, face-to-face and online instructions must not be dichotomized; teaching in the cloud campus and in the physical classroom are one and integrated. ICT is a powerful tool that may be utilized for the understanding, discourse, codification, and dissemination of local knowledge in different fields. Teachers must be challenged to aspire for higher levels of technology use, such as modification and redefinition.”

Meanwhile, Fajilan presented her paper titled “Defining and Redefining the Local: A Preliminary Analysis of Representations of Asi Culture in Community-based Websites.”
Fajilan’s paper stated that, “In a multicultural and multilingual community like the Philippines, local knowledge pertains to multiple knowledges embedded in the cultures of more than a hundred ethnolinguistic group.

However, majority of these ethnolinguistic groups’ culture are undocumented and lack representation in national affairs.” To combat this problem, Fajilan pointed out that “the emergence of web publishing in the last two decades has paved the way for new ways of representing local knowledge as evidenced by Romblomanons.”

According to Fajilan, “By publishing independent websites, local communities like the Asi of Romblon created their own space to represent their own culture. In doing so, an alternative source of local knowledge became available for a community that was neglected in traditional cultural sources like the academe and print media.”

The study illustrated how these alternative sources map local knowledge systems so that these sources may be best utilized for a critical integration of ICT in learning about and empowering indigenous communities. One of the websites that served as primary basis of her data is http://simara.com of the Simaranhon Tribe of Romblon.

Joining Reyes and Fajilan was ���ϲ�ֱ������ Educational Technology Center Director Asst. Prof. Anna Cherylle M. Ramos, who represented ���ϲ�ֱ������ in the AUDRN Institutional Partners’ Meeting with School Presidents.

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Maqui, a student leader who serves as Tiger Radio Booth Head for ���ϲ�ֱ������ Tiger TV, was selected along with 25,466 other applicants around the world to be an “Agent of Change” and was a part of the International
Monetary Fund roster, assigned to Cuba. She applied online to be part of the conference and was asked as part of her application regarding her position on the topic: “The World's Dilemma: Enhancing World Action on
climate change”.
The conference served as a niche of ideas and cultural exchanges that aimed to forge better diplomatic ties with other countries, as well as hone the youth leaders’ skills in grasping their advocacy on various topics
such as climate change, talks on saving the environment, and many more.

Maqui said that she learned from the conference valuable lessons such as: Climate Change being a global phenomenon and each and every country has a different approach and ways to confront it.

Having been assigned to a council where she was assigned as the delegate of Cuba, Maqui explained that, “I was able to study the problems they (Cubans) are facing and the solutions they proposed. I was able to compare it to the
problems we have here in the Philippines. A speaker from the United Nation Environment Programme said that there are various ways to reduce GHG or Greenhouse gas: One is through Efficiency, second is through the
Reduction of the consumption of fossil fuel on transportation and third is to increase ambition to reduce gas (consumption). There was no immediate resolution for this, it is a slow process that needs every human
���Ǵǰ��徱�Բ��پ��Dz�.”

“I was also able to bring the three 3Cs of ���ϲ�ֱ������ to Bangkok. The practice of being committed in the task we were given during the meeting sessions, compassion for my fellow delegates, and then competence in
what we did followed. It was also very timely since I am taking Environmental Engineering course this semester and the topics were mostly the systems that need to change in order to prevent pollution,” she
added.

Maqui ended by saying that “Change should start within ourselves. If we want to help mother earth then we should start evaluating first ourselves before others. A little deed can make a great impact.”

The participants learned hard skills like debating, speech making, and writing, and also how to persuade others. Every student should have the chance to push their own boundaries in order to progress.
According to the AWMUM website, the participants learned the following: to enhance diplomacy skills, to enhance leadership, to improve communication skills, to increase analytical and critical thinking skills, and to
expand networking with other delegates.

Travel Management students create resolutions
In a related development, three students in their fourth-year under the Bachelor of Science in Travel Management program of the College of Tourism and Hospitality Management were chosen as delegates in the
same conference, which was organized by International Global Network (IGN). The conference, with 1,326 delegates from around the world, assembled at the Prince Palace Hotel and Windsor Suites Hotel in Bangkok,
Thailand.

This year’s theme was: “The World’s Dilemma: Enhancing World Action on Climate Change.” The delegates were assigned to different councils, where they created resolutions for climate change.
Ms. Josephine Beatrice Domingo was part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) representing Finland, while Ms. Eunice Marie Monton was designated to the
International Labour Organization representing Norway. Finally, Mr. Matthew Eli Rogan was assigned to the World Health Organization roster representing Armenia.

The activities of the three-day event included the opening ceremony, grand symposium, diplomatic dinner, meeting session, cultural performance night, awarding session and a city tour of Bangkok.

The aim of the AWMUN II is to engage youth leaders from around the world and provide a platform to share perspectives and opinions on the given theme.

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The ten Physical Therapy (PT) students, namely, Sayunktha Suresh Anchanc, Amulya Jaya Poojary, Shruthi R, Deekshitha Salian, Anunshka Suresh Shetty, Diana Miranda, Sgar Raman Shetty, Pratiksha hedge, Maithili Milindi Bijoor and Hritika Milindi Bijoor, accompanied by Prof. Subash Chadra Rai, were at the University from January 6 to 30, 2019.

The Indian students were grouped into two and were assigned from three to four days in different ���ϲ�ֱ������-CRS affiliated rehabilitation centers Quality Life Discoveries (QLD), REACH, and UAAP sports center. Under the supervision of a licensed physical therapy staff of the three affiliation centers, the Indian students were given an opportunity to observe the evaluation and treatment of musculoskeletal, sports injury and pediatric cases in the Philippines.

Prof. Subash Chandra Rai, for his part, delivered a special lecture titled ‘Post rehabilitation of shoulder surgery’ attended by students in their 4th year under the Physical Therapy program.

Aside from the clinical observation, the students from NITTE also received special lectures from different CRS faculty members on the topics of musculoskeletal ultrasound, biomechanical taping, shock wave therapy, and sports injury. The Indian students also had the opportunity to experience Filipino culture through sight- seeing activities in Manila, engaging in Filipino classes and by trying the different modes of transportation in the country facilitated by the different ���ϲ�ֱ������-CRS student organizations.

This clinical observation program was spearheaded by the chair of the Internationalization Committee Ms. Arlene Chiong Maya, GIE faculty Mr. Lyle Patrick Tangcuangco, Internship Supervisor of the Physical Therapy Department Ms. Fe Therese Chavez, and Chair of the Department of Physical Therapy Ms. Jocel M. Regino.

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The Bangkok International Student Conference (BISC) was organized by the Faculty of Political Science of Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand in order to promote a global understanding of national and international issues confronting countries around the world while building intercultural cooperation and friendship.

The BISC is an annual academic conference that aims to provide international students a venue where they can experience more challenging and productive “classroom assignment” by presenting, defending, and discussing their research paper with international peers. It is open to students of any field of study, nationality and age to make the experience diverse.

The whole delegation was subdivided into four groups under the topics: Democracy and Economic Development, Social Media Influences on Electoral Campaign, Democracy and Populism, as well as Voter Education and the Stakes over First Time Voters. Representatives from major political parties in Thailand discussed the role of the youth in upcoming elections, not only in Thailand but in other Southeast Asian countries as well.

Workshops and networking sessions were likewise conducted to enable the delegates to socialize and connect with other youth representatives from the different Asian countries.

Montealegre and other youth delegates from the Philippines discussed national and international issues affecting the status of democracy in the world, toured the Thammasat University, and visited Thailand’s historical spots such as the Wat Pho, the Wat Arun, and the Chao Phraya River.

“I am really grateful for this learning opportunity. I gained a lot of Asian friends and the program expanded my knowledge regarding the issues confronting democratic nations around the world. Alongside, the program also led me to appreciate Thai culture and behavior even more. It [the program] made me realize that Bangkok is not just a hub for tourists but it is also imbued with a rich historical legacy and advocacy for equality,” Montealegre expressed.

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