By Vir B. Lumicao
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| he winning team makes a courtesy call at the consulate and is welcomed by its officials led by Consul General Bernardita Catalla (extreme right). |
Consul General
Bernardita Catalla was the guest of honor at the awards ceremony held on Feb.
21 at the Renaissance College in Shatin.
She praised Quirino
High’s Supreme Student Government and students for winning the top prize in the
collaborative mural category of the competition themed “Technology for Peace:
The Great Challenge”.
She also congratulated
Jecelin Bernales Pailano of St Mary’s College of Bansalan, Davao del Sur, who
received a diploma (certificate) for her entry in the technological creation
and innovation category for students 18 to 21 years old. This contest required
participants to create or invent a technology that would help promote progress
and peace.
“Peace and cooperation,
in the last decade, has successfully harnessed the creativity and
resourcefulness of young students from around the world in advocating peace and
non-violence through the annual school award,” Catalla said in a message to the
gathering.
Joaquin Antuña,
president of the UN Peace and Cooperation Foundation which co-organized the
contest along with the School of Creativity of Hong Kong, opened the awarding
ceremony attended by diplomats and representatives of the winning schools from
19 countries.
The awarding was the
highlight of the “Road to Hong Kong Exhibition” featuring the winning artworks.
Selection of the
winning entries in various contest categories was held last Oct 26 at the
Egyptian Institute of Madrid in Spain by a committee that comprised the 2015
Peace and Cooperation School Award International Jury.
Quirino High’s winning
entry was a 50-meter mural showing children sending messages and letters of
peace across the seas through a personal computer in the comfort of their home.
Like the other entries, the mural was done collaboratively by students and
teachers, according to the contest rules.
The Filipinos shared
first prize with a group of students and teachers at Instituto Carlos Steeb in
Buenos Aires, Argentina, and those from Colegio de Fomento Sansuena in
Zaragoza, Spain.
The Quirino High
delegation comprised Lory F Perjes, head teacher of the Araling Panlipunan
Department; Rodel R. Rivera, adviser of the Supreme Student Government;
Katherine Risell B Baltazar, SSG president; Claudia P Alturas, vice president;
Christianne Mae C Ocampo, secretary; and Arra Jane V Batin, treasurer.
“I was moved to tears
when our students and teachers climbed on stage to receive their award. I felt
proud. It was a very heartening feeling,” said Vanessa Banares, a Hong
Kong-based OFW and aunt of Ocampo, one of the creators of the mural.
Vice-Consul Alex
Vallespin, head of the Consulate’s cultural section, handed the first prize
award to the Quirino High delegation, then received the diploma for Pailano,
who could not join the delegation. Vallespin said the award would be sent to
Pailano by mail.
On Feb 22, Congen
Catalla hosted breakfast for the team at the Consulate. She later took them on
a tour of the premises and gave them a token.
The group flew back to
Manila later in the day.
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| The winning team makes a courtesy call at the consulate and is welcomed by its officials led by Consul General Bernardita Catalla (extreme right) |
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| The Quirino High winning mural is a collaborative work of its faculty and students (above photo) as a campus project. |
