National Volunteers Summit in Guimaras
After the successful gathering of about 300 volunteers in the past two National Volunteers Summit (NVS) in 2005 and 2006, the Volunteer Organizations Information Coordination and Exchange (VOICE) Network is set for another meaningful collaboration of people working towards national development.
Themed “Filipino Volunteering for Global Citizenship: Education and Environment”, the 3rd National Volunteers’ Summit, which will be held on April 1-3, 2009 at the Pagatpat Resort in East Valencia, Buenavista, Guimaras Island, aims to encourage discussion on the role of Filipino volunteers play in the areas of environment and education as vital factors in global citizenship.
Keynote speaker for this year’s NVS is Philippine Science High School-Western Visayas’ Josette T. Biyo, who won the 2002 Intel Excellence in Teaching Award, besting 4,000 candidates from around the world in the largest “pre-college celebration of science” in the world through the innovations she introduced to the method of teaching science research.
Apart from the NVS staple discussions and workshops, for the first time, the NVS will offer an actual hands-on volunteering experience – repainting of some public school facilities in the five municipalities of Guimaras Province – that will serve as the opening activity for the gathering of volunteers from across the country. Another highlight of the event is the presentation of an update on the work done by volunteers during the clean-up drive following the spilling of some 500,000 liters of oil into the Guimaras Strait off the coast of Guimaras Island in August 2006.
Discussion topics include “Kabataan para sa Kalikasan” and “Kabataang Pinoy Kakusa sa Edukasyon.” Guest panelists are Donna Paz Reyes, of Miriam College’s Environmental Science Institute; Melvin Purzuelo of Green Forum-Western Visayas; Nestor Banuag of Xavier University’s Kristohanang Katilingban sa Pagkabana-Social Involvement Program; and Efren Peñaflorida, CNN Awardee for Education.
In recent years, VOICE has been working towards sustaining volunteer service by linking volunteer organizations for information and resources exchange. As a national network, it has convened various sectors of society for capability building and organizational enhancement. With the firm belief that volunteers contribute a great deal in building a better world, VOICE yearns to nurture them to keep their noble tasks.