1. Adult Indigenous Peoples Education Phase II

The project is a five-year endeavor that hopes to culminate in 2015 when the countries will be evaluating their achievements relative to their Education for All (EFA) targets. On its first year in 2010, the Adult Indigenous Peoples Education project mapped out existing education policies and programs for indigenous communities. The documentation of Best Case Studies was published in the first quarter of 2011 which identified successful intervention programs.

The Civil Society Network for Education Reforms (E-Net Philippines) is the lead implementer of the project in further pursuance of the Belem Framework for Action adopted at the 6th International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VI) held in December 2009 in Belem, Brazil.

Building on the first phase of the project, Phase II will pursue the agreements made in the policy forum which includes the dissemination of the research and policy paper to the Legislature and other concerned agencies and advocacy targeting Local Government Units in municipalities with large populations of indigenous peoples. Following the recommendation of the policy paper on developing effective community-based IP education programs, this year’s implementation will feature the formation of community volunteers with capacities to work with LGUS and the Department of Education on adult IP education.


2. Research and Documentation on ESD Good Practices

In the framework of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) 2005-2014, the project on Research and Documentation on ESD Good Practices aims to research and document case studies reflecting institutional efforts to reorient curriculum, programs, practices and policies to address sustainability in education at different levels and social contexts.

ESD is a vision of education that seeks to empower people to assume responsibility for creating a sustainable future. It aims at improving access to quality basic education, reorienting education curricula, training and raising public awareness as well as to help people to develop adequate behaviors, skills and knowledge, now and in the future, and to act upon these decisions. The founding value of ESD is respect: respect for others and respect for the planet and what it provides us with (resources, fauna and flora). ESD wants to challenge us all to adopt new behaviors and practices to secure our future.

The research will be guided by the DESD principles reflecting a diversity of efforts from different stakeholders. It will provide tangible and inspiring examples of reorienting education to address sustainability, illustrating how institutions accepted challenges associated with creating and implementing ESD programs.


3. Life Skills Workshop on Young People’s Sexual and Reproductive Health

The Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry reported a total of 6,669 HIV infected persons from 1984 to 2011, 13% of which or 867 people have full-blown AIDS cases. During the same period, there were 324 reported AIDS-related deaths. In the first 4 months of 2011 alone, there were already 654 cases of new HIV infections reported in the Registry. From an average of one case a day reported in 2006, it has increased to 5 to 6 incidences reported daily. The numbers may look small but at this rate, UNAIDS projects that by end of 2015, there will be 46,000 HIV infected Filipinos. Further, the Registry indicated that 45% of the HIV infections were most prevalent in the age group 20-29 years old (PNAC, 2011).

Education is the key to reducing stigma and promoting greater understanding of HIV/AIDS.  It can also provide life saving skills necessary to protect oneself and care for others.  Studies indicate that basic knowledge of HIV/AIDS among young people is alarmingly low. Life skills are critical to young people’s ability to positively adapt to and deal with the demands and challenges of life, including sexual and reproductive health.

The 2-day workshop on Life Skills on Young People’s Sexual and Reproductive Health aims to equip young people, selected from UNESCO Clubs, with the necessary life skills on sexual and reproductive health. It will likewise be a capacity-building opportunity for effective youth peer education on HIV/AIDS prevention and reducing vulnerability to the said epidemic.


4. ASPnet Strategic Planning Workshop

UNESCO’s work in facilitating education networks and communities is central to its mission as a clearinghouse and promoter of best practices and innovation. The Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet) member schools are the NatCom’s key partners on the ground that serve as laboratories for experimenting and validating educational material and main advocates of UNESCO’s mandates.

To date, there are 22 ASPnet member schools nationwide. The NatCom shall therefore work towards the expansion and continuous capacity-building of this network through participation in national, regional and international activities of UNESCO. The workshop aims to develop, with the participation of member-schools, a 5-year ASPnet Strategy and Plan of Action (2012-2016). It will likewise engage the schools in reviewing, developing and implementing activities in line with the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and the central role of education in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).


5. International Human Rights Day Video Contest

In celebration of the International Human Rights Day on December 10, 2011, the Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet) is launching a Video Contest on the theme: ASPnet – Upholding the Rights of the Children. The contest provides an opportunity to ASPnet member-schools to develop and produce short videos relevant to promoting the Rights of the Children based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights—civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. In 1989, world leaders decided that children needed a special convention just for them because people under 18 years old often need special care and protection that adults do not. The leaders also wanted to make sure that the world recognized that children have human rights too.

There will be three categories for the contest: elementary students; high school students; and, college/university students. For each category, students should be able to show their talents and skills by producing a video relevant to the Rights of the Child as provided in the Conventions on the Rights of the Child adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1989.

The contest is open only to UNESCO ASPnet member-schools and accredited UNESCO Clubs in the Philippines. This will provide an opportunity for member-schools to actively participate in ASPnet-led activities along with the promotion of solidarity among them.