The ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity announced the winner of the ASEAN-wide photo contest “Zooming in on Biodiversity” at the ASEAN Conference on Biodiversity on recently held in Republic Polytechnic, Singapore.

The awarding ceremony was led by Ambassador Holger Standertskjold Nordenstam, Head of the European Commission Delegation to Singapore; Mr. Rodrigo U. Fuentes, Executive Director, ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity; Dr. Robert Lee, Deputy Director, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Jakarta; and Ms. Imelda Samson, Vice President, Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication (AIJC).

The contest, which was conducted from 22 May to 07 September, received 915 entries from 371 photographers from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

The three First Prize winners are:  Student Category – Ms. Christine Marie Bangero (Philippines) for her photograph “Girl looking up at a dead tree”; Amateur Category – Ms. Helena Kalsom Binti Elias (Malaysia) for her photograph “Fish trapped in net”; Professional Category – Mr. Chalid Nasution (Indonesia) for his photograph “Large Flying Fox.” 

Other winners include: Student Category, 2nd Prize – Mr. Lee Zcho Yee (Malaysia) for his entry “Amazing Architecture”; Student Category, 3rd Prize – Mr. Karlo Emmanuel Victoriano (Philippines) for his entry “Children plant trees in mining site”; Amateur Category, 2nd Prize – Ms. Diadem Gonzales (Philippines) for her entry “Teach ‘em Young”; Amateur Category, 3rd Prize – Dr. Victor Vesuna (Philippines) for his entry “Tree Frog”; Professional Category, 2nd Prize – Mr. Al Benavente (Philippines) for his entry “Hunter Preparing for a Feast of Birds”; and 3rd Prize – Mr. Kyaw Kyaw Winn (Myanmar) for his entry “Kids Collecting Water.” 

A total of US$7,700 was received by winners in all categories. The first prize winners also received an expense-paid trip to attend the ASEAN Conference on Biodiversity in Singapore including airfare and accommodations. 

Conducted in partnership with the European Commission, ASEAN Member States, UNESCO, MTV Philippines, and AIJC, the photo contest seeks to popularize the values of biodiversity through the medium of photography.  For more information, log on to www.aseanbiodiversity.org.

The AIJC welcomes two new members and one returning member of the Board of Trustees.

Former President and CEO of the Social Security System Corazon dela Paz-Bernardo is no stranger to the AIJC family. She was a member of the Board until she resigned due to her hectic schedule.

Head of GMA Network Community Relations Rod Cornejo is another  familiar figure at AIJC. He has been a representative of GMA Network President and CEO Felipe Gozon to the AIJC Board for the past several years.

The newest member of the AIJC Board of Trustees is self-made entrepreneur Francis D. Lumen. He was founder & CEO of Raven Broadcasting Corp/ Citylite 88.3 FM and built NBC into a profitable network of 15 FM stations. He was also Director of Mabuhay Satellite Corp., one of Asia's leading satellite communications firms. He is now Chairman & CEO of All Youth Channels, Inc/ MTV Philippines which carries the 100 percent Filipino company aired on cable.        

Experts in law and human rights, history, political science, psychology, anthropology, and communication joined media representatives in a roundtable discussion on a multidisciplinary inquiry on the culture of impunity against journalists on September 15 at the Club Filipino in San Juan, Metro Manila.

According to Dr. Florangel Rosario Braid, chair of the communication committee of the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines (NatCom), the discussion aimed to examine the problem of impunity in the killing of Filipino journalists from a multidisciplinary perspective with inputs from experts in the social sciences.

Through an analysis of the root causes of impunity and case examples, policy options and an action agenda will be recommended to address the continued killing of journalists, she said.

No less than UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura sounded the alarm for the increasing deaths of Filipino journalists “who have been made to pay an intolerably heavy price to exercise the basic human right of freedom of expression.” He has called on Philippine authorities to “spare no effort in bringing to justice the culprits of these crimes which undermine the rights and freedoms of all the citizens of the Philippines.”

The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility reports that as of August this year, 134 Filipino journalists have been killed since 1986. Of this number, 80 are work-related. Since the start of 2009, six journalists have already been killed.

At the roundtable discussion, funded by UNESCO Regional Office Jakarta and organized by AIJC and UNESCO NatCom, participants expressed willingness to take part in a research effort that would draw the framework to examine culture, history, child rearing, education, media, politics and even the economics of Filipino society.

The participants and other experts will finalize the research framework and share papers and case studies.

AIJC president Ramon R. Tuazon served as facilitator of the roundtable discussion. Other participants represented the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, Center for Community Journalism and Development, Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (National Association of Philippine Broadcasters), Philippine Press Institute, Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists, Philippines Communication Society, and Philippine Association of Communication Educators.

AIJC President Ramon R. Tuazon attended the International Experts Group Meeting on Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Curriculum for Teacher Education at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris last September 22-23.

As a follow-up of the initial meeting held also in Paris in June 2008, the meeting brought together 15 education specialists from various countries worldwide to review the draft curriculum prepared by four MIL experts earlier commissioned by UNESCO. The four experts prepared 12 modules which comprise the draft teacher training curriculum.

Mr. Tuazon, one of the four experts, prepared two modules on news reporting and media ownership. He also prepared the background document on MIL Learning Objectives and Outcomes.

The other three experts are Carolyn Wilson, President of the Association for Media Literacy (AML) Ontario, Canada; Kwame Akyempong, Senior Lecturer, Institute of Development Studies of Sussex University, UK; and Chi Kim Cheung, Teacher Trainer, Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong. The team’s co-coordinator based in UNESCO Paris is Alton Grizzle, program specialist at the Communication Development Division.

UNESCO seeks to provide teachers with an MIL program to enable them as well as their students to develop a greater understanding of the role of media and information technology.  With this MIL program, UNESCO hopes that policies will be adopted in various countries and regions to make MIL compulsory in schools and universities, even leading to degrees in Media and Information Literacy. 

“Media and information literacy” refers to the knowledge and understanding of how the media operate, how they construct meaning, how they can be used, and how to evaluate the information they present. This also implies knowledge and understanding of personal and social values, responsibilities relating to the ethical use of technology and information, as well as participation in democratic and cultural dialogue.

UNESCO sees MIL as both a content area and a way of working; it is not merely about the acquisition of a set of technical competencies, but also the development of a fuller range of critical questions and approaches.   

The UNESCO course on MIL seeks to develop the skills and knowledge of teachers in the design, delivery, assessment and evaluation of Media and Information Literacy programs for secondary students.

Executives, regional personnel and administrative staff from three government agencies recently completed training seminar workshops been conducted by AIJC.

A two-day High Impact Executive Presentation Skills Enhancement Training-Workshop was conducted for the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Management Committee members at the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) Ortigas Conference Room. Held in two batches on October 2-3 for 22 staff and October 27-28 for 25 personnel, the training-workshop discussed various powerful presentation techniques, enhancement of presentations using dynamic visual aids, and management of media appearances.

A Seminar-Workshop on Sustaining Project Gains Through Effective Communication was conducted for 35 National Capital Region (NCR) and Regional staff of the Department of Energy and Philippine Efficient Lighting Market Transformation (PELMAT) Project. Held on October 15-16, the seminar-workshop centered on the importance of communication in development projects, mainstreaming communication initiatives of the PELMAT Project in regular DOE programs, development of various communication materials, and the art of working with media.

A seminar-workshop on Effective Technical Writing and Editing was conducted for administrative staff and program assistants of the Agricultural Credit Policy Council on October 12-14 at the ACPC Conference Room. Attended by 18 staff members of different ACPC departments, the workshop engaged the participants in Prewriting Strategies, Principles of Clear and Effective Writing, Editing and Proofreading Techniques, and the art of Packaging Reports.

A similar training will be conducted for ACPC Executives on November 9-11 and another will be held for ACPC technical staff on November 16-18.