Shaping the Future Through Synergy

All roads led to a summer getaway at the heart of Lian, Batangas on the 31st of March.

Participants from all over the country - implementers, learners, community partners and donors, eSkwela regional coordinators, State Universities and Colleges (SUC) content developers, and module guide developers - trooped to Matabungkay Beach Resort and Hotel to attend the 2nd eSkwela Conference organized by the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) and co-sponsored by Batangas State University (BatSU).

Top Left: eSkwela Conference organizers - CICT and BatSU- get busy as participants start to register at the lobby of Matabungkay Beach Resort and Hotel. Top Right: eSkwela Project Manager Maria Melizza Tan delivers eSkwela Project Overview. Bottom Left: eSkwela Project Manager Maria Melizza Tan, Dr. Lloyd Espiritu of De La Salle University, IdeaCorp Chief Executive Emmanuel C. Lallana, Commissioner Consuelo S. Perez of CICT-Human Capital Development Group, Batangas State University President Dr. Nora Magnaye and eSkwela Project Officer Christina Maureen Salang pose for the camera. Bottom Right: Commissioner Perez awards Certificate of Appreciation to Keynote Speaker Ms. Evangeline Lourdes Arroyo-Bernas, Southeast Asia Policy Officer of World Wide Fund for Nature - Philippines.

The first day of the three-day event was certainly charged with energy and excitement. Almost 170 participants, many of them meeting for the first time, were expectant to get together with their fellow attendees and learn from the Conference. You could easily see eagerness from the participants, even if they just had a grueling trip from their respective residences, as well as from the organizers, who have prepared for almost three months for the Conference.

Top left: eSkwela Conference participants set action plans. Top right: Facing the open forum were Prof. Patricia Arinto of the University of the Philippines - Open University, eSkwela learner Bianca Nina Densing, Instructional Manager Irene Barzaga and eSkwela Project Officer Christina Maureen Salang. Bottom left: Rotary Club of Marikina South member Alerta Paz presents the Adopt-a-learner Program of eSkwela - Kalumpang. Bottom right: eSkwela Conference participants pose with Director Carolina S. Guerrero of the Bureau of Alternative Learning Systems - Department of Education.

From the first ocular inspection to checking of the conference venue, finalizing list of participants to sending out invitation letters, design of Conference collaterals to securing all equipment, finalizing room arrangements to checking meal preparation, task briefing to dry run, distribution of evaluation forms to check out and reimbursements, the eSkwela Project team with the help of our BatSU counterpart labored to ensure the success of the Conference.

Top left: Participants are all up for fun (under the sun) during the eSkwelympics. Top right: Module guide developers dance to the tune of "Sway" during the luau. Bottom Left: Congressman Rozzano Rufino Biazon of Muntinlupa City delivers a message during the third day. Bottom right: eSkwela Project team and BatSU staff relax after the Conference.

And true to the objectives of the Conference, the event became a venue for dialogue and interaction among the different eSkwela partners and stakeholders. Concrete ideas and steps for improved project implementation were generated, and working relationships were also strengthened. The participants were able to set action plans, participate in knowledge exchanges, identify success factors, and shape the future through synergy.