Wellness in Culture: Conference on Cultural Renewal to be held @ CCP on Dec 3 by Philanthropists, Art patrons, Cultural Workers, Writers & Artists

"Media/education and the new communication technologies: How may media promote an ethical and just society whose culture — both social and artistic — is part of their environment, embedded in their very lives as craftsmanship, as habit? How do the social media affect society? How may the new communication technologies elevate cultural, political sensibility, improve literacy, thinking, social responsibility, sense of nation?

Culture and the state: How will the state assist in cultural development, through education, a viable cultural program recognizing diversity? As in France, does the Philippines need a Ministry of Culture? There is so much anarchy in beautification, in the naming of streets, the placing of public monuments — how will these be standardized, regulated? How may towns, cities, on their own — enhance cultural awareness through museums, festivals, the writing of local histories?"

'via Blog this'Nation and culture - HINDSIGHT By F Sionil Jose - The Philippine Star » Lifestyle Features » Arts and Culture:

Arts and culture: What is the function of the arts in the formation of identity, in unifying a people and imparting to them a sense of nation, ethics and justice?

Culture and society: How may the awareness of social attitudes and cultural values be developed further and encouraged and how, in a larger sense, will the work of cultural workers be institutionalized and supported by the people? For instance, if people can spend for cigarettes, beer and cockfighting, how may some of that money be channeled towards cultural development?

Wellness in Science & Technology: 1st Philippine Science Digital Library Development by STII or DOST now in Zamboanga

"Regional Information Technology and E-Commerce Committee in Zamboanga Peninsula (RITECC-IX) is launching the Department of Science and Technology-Science and Technology Information Institute's (DOST-STII) STARBOOKS in Zamboanga City. STARBOOKS which stands for Science and Technology Academic and Research-Based Openly-Operated Kiosk Stations is the first Philippine Science Digital library development by the STII or DOST.

DOST Regional Director Brenda Nazareth-Manzano said Thursday the STARBOOKS project, which is funded by her office under its Grants-In-Aid (GIA) Program, will be launched on November 23. RITECC-IX is a special committee on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) under the Regional Development Council. Manazano said STARBOOKS is a stand alone, onsite research kiosk that provides free access on science and technology (S&T) information for academic and livelihood use."

'via Blog this'RITECC, Department of Science and Technology to launch STARBOOKS project | Sun.Star:

Wellness in Environment: Mindoro Resources Received Awards Reflecting Company's Commitment to Excellence in Social, Environmental, Health & Safety

"The awards were made by the Presidential Mineral Industry Environmental Award Selection Committee, led by the Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Forest Management Bureau, Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association and the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines.

The Presidential Mineral Industry Environmental Award for Mineral Exploration Category is the highest performance award in the combined fields of Health, Safety, Environment and Community Relations programs.

The Best Mining Forest Contest award recognizes the Company's work in reforestation and rehabilitation, its adopt a river project, water source protection program, the newly established eco farm, drill site rehabilitation, biodiversity consideration, as well as its other environmental programs.

The Safest Exploration Award recognizes the Company's commitment to occupational and environmental safety standards in all of its exploration activities."

'via Blog this'Steel Guru : Mindoro Resources unit wins top 3 awards for environment and safety programs - 236016 - 2011-11-16:

Wellness in Education: To Improve Performance of 63,000 plus Undernourished School Children, DepEd to Pursue Feeding Program

"According to Education Secretary Armin Luistro, the feeding program aims to address under-nutrition and short-term hunger syndrome among public schoolchildren who do not eat breakfast and walk long distance to reach school. “This is the most vulnerable group who finds it hard to pay attention to the lessons in class because of hunger and are in danger of dropping out if no intervention is made,” Luistro explained.

The DepEd chief added that the program — which was initially implemented in Pangasinan, Bohol and Lanao del Norte — will be expanded to 15 more divisions during the school year. Based on the prevalence of under-nutrition in these divisions and the capability of school heads to manage and administer the program, the new beneficiaries are schools from the divisions of Quirino, Zambales, Batangas, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Sorsogon, Kabankalan City, Bacolod City, Negros Oriental, Leyte, Zamboanga del Norte, Davao Oriental, Sultan Kudarat, Surigao del Norte, Kalinga, Maguindanao, and Quezon City."
"

'via Blog this'Wellness for Peace: Climate Change: Wellness in Education: To Improve Performance of 63,000 plus Undernourished School Children, DepEd to Pursue Feeding Program:

Wellness in Culture: Arizza Ann Sahi Nocum cited by NCCA & NLP for her Role in Building Libraries & Countering Culture of Guns w/ Books & Education

The 17-year-old Arizza Ann Sahi Nocum recently received an award from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the National Library of the Philippines (NLP).

Arizza, an Industrial Engineering freshman at the University of the Philippines, was recognized by the NCCA’s National Committee on Library and Information Services (NCLIS) “for her exemplary and invaluable contributions in the field of library and information services by building libraries, distributing books, and promoting reading to underserved children.” The Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. (PLAI) joined the NCCA and NLP last November 4 in giving the certificate of recognition to Arizza for playing a key role in her Christian-Muslim parents’ advocacy to distribute books, grant scholarships, provide the free use of computers, and build libraries in conflict areas in Mindanao since 2001.

The young Arizza, who is now the administrator of the Kristiyano-Islam (KRIS) Peace Library, is the daughter of Armand Dean N. Nocum (a Roman Catholic) and Annora Sahi Nocum (a Muslim)."

'via Blog this'Books and Education for Peace | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online: "

Manny Pacquiao gives Honor to Entire Philippines on Sunday as Winner of his bout with Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez

"As in many of Pacquiao's previous bouts, the country almost shut down as millions of people followed the fight of the boxer who has become a national hero. The wealthy watched at pay-per-view showings in hotels and sports bars while local politicians hosted public displays in town plazas and gymnasiums. Support for Pacquiao crossed political lines, with Darlene Custodio, the mayor of the boxer's home town, the southern city of General Santos -- who defeated him in a 2007 election -- joining in the celebrations. "Manny really proved his worth as the pound-for-pound king. His victory gives more honour to the country, especially to General Santos," the mayor said. Pacquiao, a poverty-stricken high-school drop-out, used his boxing skills to become a world champion and has since parlayed his fame into a career as a product endorser, TV show host, movie star and congressman."

'via Blog this'Philippines celebrates close Manny Pacquiao victory - The Times of India:

Update: Asian Development Bank gives Incentives for the Public and Private Sectors to Invest in Renewable Energies

"Asian Development Bank focuses on delivering projects for the Asia and Pacific region that create economic and development impact. The bank had more than $17.5 billion in approved financing in 2010. Its main devices for assistance are loans, grants, technical assistance, equity investments and policy dialogue. To encourage the shift to clean and efficient energy, ADB is expanding the use of renewable energy, facilitating the introduction of new clean energy technologies, identifying and promoting cost-effective energy efficiency improvements, and giving incentives for the public and private sectors to invest in these areas. On the supply side, ADB is emphasizing the expansion of renewable energy and using focusing on access to energy as a priority for economic growth, with a focus on helping the poor and protecting the environment."

'via Blog this'Banks Provide Critical Support for Hydro Project Development:In February 2011, ADB approved a loan of $57.3 million to Papua New Guinea utility PNG Power Ltd. to fund renewable energy projects, including run-of-river hydro. This loan is part of a broader Town Electrification Investment Program approved by ADB in late 2010 that will improve the power supply in provincial urban centers by replacing diesel generation with renewable energy generation. Total cost of the program is estimated to be $150 million. Projects to be implemented under the first tranche of the program include run-of-river hydro plants in the Northern Province and Autonomous Region of Bougainville, as well as a 66 kV transmission line in West New Britain that will provide access to about 1 MW of spare capacity from the 3 MW Lake Hargy hydro plant.

Sri Lanka is using a $120 million loan from ADB to expand and improve its power network, including support for renewable energy that is to add hydropower to the national grid. ADB approved the loan, along with a technical assistance grant for the Sustainable Power Sector Support Project, in January 2011. The project will help the government reduce imports of fossil fuels by providing a credit line of nearly $1.3 million to private developers for about 19 small hydro facilities and by financing the detailed engineering design of the 30 MW Moragolla hydro plant. The government of Sri Lanka will provide about $42 million, for a total project cost of $162 million. This work supports the government's goal of providing nearly 100% of households in the country with electricity by 2016.

And Himachal Pradesh Power Corp. Ltd. in India is developing four run-of-river hydroelectric projects with a total capacity of 856 MW under the $800 million Multi-Tranche Financing Facility Himachal Clean Power Development program funded by ADB. The objective of the work is to help fulfill local demand, especially energy shortages in the winter months of December to February. Outcomes of the program are to include increased production and use of clean energy in a financially sustainable manner through run-of-river hydro schemes, improved state finances from sales revenue earned from power exports, partial offset of project operation expenses due to potential revenues derived from Clean Development Mechanism carbon credit sales, and improved capacity in HPC for better planning, implementation and management of hydro plants.

One of these four projects is 450 MW Shongtong Karcham on the Satluj River, for which the developer was seeking bids in August to supply electromechanical equipment. The remaining projects are 195 MW Integrated Kashang, 100 MW Sainj and 111 MW Sawra Kuddu.