Papua New Guinean's perception of the Philippines...

SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/jeffryfeegerart/?pnref=story

How Papua New Guinea delegates perceived the Philippines and the Filipinos, during the recently concluded APEC Summit.

Proud to be a FILIPINO!

Congratulations PHILIPPINES! Job Well Done!

SOURCE: http://assets.rappler.com/3720CF4E42D343579479296BF0BFB5CE/img/4B1BA6249ED44DC6A78CBAD64A1AF544/apec-road-metro-manila-20151103-1.jpg

In the recently concluded APEC Summit, let me congratulate the Philippine government who hosted the world’s biggest stage for one week, spearheaded by Pres. Benigno Aquino, on its success. Truly, this is something that Filipinos all took pride whether one is in the Philippines or overseas.

In furtherance, allow me to encompass briefly the Summit objectives. Under the theme “Building Inclusive Economies, Building a Better World,” APEC 2015 focused on the following key priorities: (APEC Official Website)

• Enhancing the Regional Economic Integration Agenda
• Fostering Small and Medium Enterprises’ Participation in Regional and Global Markets
• Investing in Human Capital Development will fit, “a long-term effect” indeed, that will translate inclusiveness)
• Building Sustainable and Resilient Communities

As our television is bombarded with APEC activities in the past days over TFC and GMA TV, I’ve challenged my elder son, whose 11 years old, if he thinks APEC is good for the Philippines?

He contemplated for few seconds, and his answer brought me relief and elation that his cognizance is somehow aligned with his Mom smile emoticon He said, that “Yes Mom, APEC is good because world leaders get to ‘communicate’ with each other, and talk about conflicts and businesses.” I delightedly replied that conflict cannot be part of the agenda for APEC, but yes, communication and businesses are smile emoticon.

APEC expands the region’s growth story and include a vision of economic prosperity and interconnectedness felt at all levels—beginning at the grassroots. As regional economic integration continues to take form and strengthen, APEC 2015 oriented policies and initiatives through the prism of its inclusive growth strategy. Integration, as such, will be defined and advanced not only for the benefit of economies but also for the people that drive economic growth.

Truly, “INCLUSIVE GROWTH” is a humungous, overtly, excessively used word, when it comes to development. Yet, in what we all have witnessed in APEC and the APEC CEO SUMMIT, inclusive growth is slowly becoming a reality. The region’s prosperity will now spread to “micro-entrepreneurs” and “poor farmers”. A purely divine goal that brings tears to my eyes, as Inclusiveness will finally be felt on the grassroots level. My senior citizen parents are microentrepreneurs in Bulacan, and so I hope that the increased participation of government officials and business leaders will greatly influence the streamlining of business policies in the Philippines.

But then again, the Summit is one thing, but tangible planning and implementation are certainly on another horizon. I believe that to strongly feel the trickledown effect of growth, the government has to develop an action plan, or development communication plan to a devcom perspective, on facilitating inclusiveness.

Lastly, let me end this account, regardless of its awkwardness, and for whatever its worth, by citing a part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's address delivered at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit last Wednesday for his highlights on the inclusive growth,

he said, "No one should be left behind.”

The real essence of our being a developmental specialist.

Like · Reply · November 21 at 5:38pm · Edited

Philippines - Papua New Guinea Ties

SOURCE: http://www.rappler.com/nation/113181-philippines-papua-new-guinea-trade-ties

"For his part, O'Neill said technology transfer and technical assistance from the Philippines will be appreciated."

... an expertise that all Filipinos here in Papua New Guinea are all proud to beam with warmness and humility. Filipino pride, indeed!

Shortage of Onions in Papua New Guinea???? Whaaaaatttt????

SOURCE: http://looppacificassets.s3.amazonaws.com/styles/carousel_large/s3/thumbnails/image/07onions.jpg?itok=tbGgeeF8

Allow me to share an agony that expats here in Papua New Guinea, specifically in the central city of Port Moresby, whose been enduring for nearly a month the shortage, or more appropriate to state as nowhere to be found‘onions’ and ‘calamansi’ in all supermarkets as well as in wet and dry markets all over the city. Nothing on a similar plight have had happened before, and so we are all caught off guard. Due to desperation, my husband asked a Papua New Guinean colleague to buy us onions on their local village market outside Port Moresby, and it costed us P64.00 per piece!!!

Only expatriates have been buzzing dramatically about the shortage in onions, as Papua New Guineans are not really into cooking. While us Filipinos, are lamenting badly especially my kids frown emoticon, about the non-existence of both ‘onions’ and ‘calamansi’ in our daily comfort Filipino dishes.

In conferment to the given explanations found in Expatriates Association of Port Moresby facebook page, it was said that the ban on the import of fruits and vegetables is beginning to take a visible effect. Lae Chamber of Commerce officer Allan McLay, however rooted the shortage to drought that has affected production of vegetables in the Highlands (vegetable production capital city) and other parts of the country. Others entrenched it to frost that has been badly hitting the vegetable production provinces, likewise.

Drought, frost, temperature rise, forest fire, super typhoons, it is binding and evident that CLIMATE CHANGE is happening NOW!

With that premise, I devise a simple development communication plan for CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION

Message Sources 
Climatic data and forecasts will be originated from the Meteorological Department and other government authorities, government research institutes, also from the universities and scholars doing studies on climate change and adaptation. Other pertinent information may also be gathered from the mass media.

Localised Messages 
Messages have to be laymanised, localised and translated into climatic information, agricultural knowledge model and advisory services significant to the needs of the local community.

Channels
Once message is transformed into understandable forms, they can be shared using a unification of folk media, interpersonal and mediated communication including local information outlets such as the pharmacies and village markets, use of ICTs, film, mobile van, etc.

Community Participatory Learning 
The heart of the matter lies in being able to integrate these different channels and messages into a hub of participatory community learning to build a community of learners on livelihood adaptation to climate change.

Desired Outcomes
Improved adaptive capacity leads to a successful livelihood adaptation options.

Furthermore, a development communication plan should be linked to the national and regional levels for sources of messages and for mainstreaming objectives. Nonetheless, PLANNING is one thing, but IMPLEMENTATION is another thing. The government must reinforce all its agencies and resources to contrive plan, strategies and implementation to mitigate, if not to curb the devastating effects of climate change. I strongly suggest that every government of every nation should put up a National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility that will synthesise the best available adaptation research and produce practical, hands-on tools and information for local decision-makers, particularly in the coastal zone.

And so expectantly, in the next few days, along with a better configured development plan of the Papua New Guinea government, I am hopeful to reconnect and cook our native ‘bistek’ again. Crossed-finger!

READINGS:

http://www.looppng-sb.com/.../review-decision-ban-fresh...
https://www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/adaptation

My Son's Favourite Scientist

JEDD or RENZ was speaking on stage as their class hosted the school assembly last week. He discussed about his favourite scientist ... none other than Dr. Jose Rizal :). I told him to pick a prominent one, but he insisted to share to the whole school about our Filipino ingenuity. Good job son! ‪#‎LoveYourOwn‬ ‪#‎ProudToBeFilipino‬

"Here's Not Here" ....

SOURCE: http://images.designntrend.com/data/images/full/68599/the-walking-dead-morgan.jpg?w=780

"Here's Not Here" - Morgan's past...the best episode yet :)...  Episode 6 playing now....

Humbling Indeed ....

SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/unicefpng/photos/a.323478174408449.73460.257935064296094/906810716075189/?type=3&theater

The Essentiality of Communication Planning

SOURCE: http://ba5137420c54bf2d4356-5030201674c729b9ee184c866197d6e1.r57.cf1.rackcdn.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/How-to-Create-a-Project-Communication-Plan1.jpg

Planning, in accordance to Community Tool Box Website (ctb.ku.edu), is a manner to organize behaviours for the fulfilment of specific goal/s. Our goal as development communicators is to raise awareness in line with our initiative's long-term benefits towards our community.

To develop a plan of communication for development, we have to consider some basic questions (Section 1. Developing a Plan for Communication):

• Why do we want to communicate with the community? (What’s our purpose?)
• Whom do we want to communicate it to? (Who’s our audience?)
• What do we want to communicate? (What’s our message?)
• How do we want to communicate it? (What communication channels are we going to use?)
• Whom should we contact and what should we do in order to use those channels? (How will we actually distribute your message?)

The answers to these pertinent inquiries establish our action plan and what are we needed to do in order to communicate strongly with our audience. The rest of our development communication plan involves three steps:

• Implement our action plan. Construct the message and distribute it to the target audience.
• Evaluate our communication efforts, and fine-tune our plan accordingly.
• Keep at it

Communication is continuous activity for development planners like us, which depends upon, serves, or is in some way associated with the community. The audience, purpose, channels, and message may alter, but the commitment to maintain relationships with key people and the media in the community continue. As a result, an essential part of any development communication plan is to continue using and revising our plan, based on our experience, throughout the existence of our development goals.

Goodnight! And thank you for reading.



Reference
Section 1. Developing a Plan for Communication. (n.d.). Retrieved November 5, 2015, from Community Tool Box: http://ctb.ku.edu/

Welcome to Papua New Guinea, David Beckham!!!

SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/Beckham/photos/a.146755971570.121766.84218631570/10153020915931571/?type=3&theater

CHURCH MEDIA AGENCIES to Train DevCom Specialists in PNG

SOURCE: http://www.nhchurch.net/hp_wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/media_ministry.png

According to Ely D. Gomez, in a report written for the Government of Papua New Guinea entitled, Assessment of Communication Training Needs, he proposed the possibility of increasing the use of CHURCH MEDIA AGENCIES as training institutions to assist in providing trained manpower in the field of communication.

He furthered that churches here in Papua New Guinea operate media agencies which have excellent training programs in print media, broadcast media, and audio-visuals. Likewise, church missions have provided substantial training in the use of communication to support development in the provinces. 

It is highly called upon by Gomez that these church media agencies to continue as a training institution as the government embarks on a program of having people with adequate professional training in the field of communication.

In all subjectivity, for a communication plan to be effective and efficient, I accede that “training the trainers” is a nucleus for a favourable developmental advancement. However, it is not every day that we’ve concur stories, that a religious frequented institution can now be accorded to be a training institution. This speaks volume that truly, a genuine passionate communication planner sees no boundaries in conceiving transcendent developmental perspectives. Hence, DevCom.

Anniversary Gifts of My Boys :)

KUYA JETT and JEDD'S anniversary card for us. Thank you boys, I just hope that when you both grow up, you will realize more that "sacrifice" is a beautiful, positive thing that is of great opportunity for parents to show, fuel by their overflowing love to their children. Nevertheless, it is a moving gift to receive from you two. Love you both! :)