UST CSC successfully held Silakbo ng Dunong at Gamlay: The UST SDG Congress ‘23

Photo by Justine Alfred S. Ariola

The UST Central Student Council successfully concluded their highly anticipated event called Silakbo ng Dunong at Gamlay: The UST SDG Congress 2023 which was held on-site last Saturday, March 25, 2023, from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM at the UST Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati Building Auditorium.

Filled with Thomasian leaders from across various colleges and faculties, this years-in-the-making event brought the delegates closer to fully realizing the importance of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Commencing the event with insightful opening remarks was one of the Project Heads Kimberly Ann Emerenciana who challenged the audience to listen, connect, and engage in SDG discussions to move towards the ultimate collective goal of rapid, significant change in the country.

Photo by Mylferd Joshua S. Supnet

Kicking off the series of talks in the morning session with an extensive overview of the Sustainable Development Goals was Mr. John Mark Jacinto, a Curator of the Online SDG Youth Action Forum. During his talk, he employed the 5Ps of Sustainable Development (People, Planet, Prosperity, Partnership, and Peace) among the delegates and motivated them to constantly champion their certain 'whys' despite the changing ‘hows’ and ‘whats’ in themselves.

Photo by Mylferd Joshua S. Supnet

Next to grace the stage with his catchy Mabuhay, Kruhay tagline was Mr. Paul John Hernandez, the founder of Traveling Salakot. As his talk revolved around incorporating advocacies with one’s leadership style, Mr. Hernandez engaged the crowd, telling them to get out of their comfort zones in hopes of acknowledging his 3Cs—heeding the Call, joining the Community, and sharing oneself through finding their Calcutta.

Furthermore, an open forum was done after every talk to expound the speakers' discussions through the queries of the Thomasian crowd.

Photos by Mylferd Joshua S. Supnet

The third and final part of the session was focus group discussions (FGDs) among students which were conducted in four separate rooms with talks from reputable speakers who delved into the particulars of the 3rd, 4th, 10th, and 16th Sustainable Development Goals. They are:

Asec. Dexter A. Galban, RN, RBP, MD-MDA, Assistant Secretary for Youth Affairs and Special Concerns for the Department of Education (DepEd), designated to discuss SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being,
Mr. Jann Romeo Nacar, the Executive Director of PH-LEAD, Inc., assigned in SDG 4: Quality Education,
Dr. Maureen Ava Mata, a Council Member from the National Anti-Poverty Commission Persons with Disabilities Sectoral Council, entrusted for SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, and
Mr. Dexter Yang, Founder and Chairman of GoodGov PH, spearheading the talk for SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.

Photo by Mylferd Joshua S. Supnet

Upon the in-depth FGDs, the afternoon session began with the Project Pitch Brainstorming by the student delegates in which they were given an hour and thirty minutes to construct a project aligned to their groups’ assigned SDG and an eight-minute presentation conducted back in the auditorium.

Capping off the event was the awarding of the winning pitch which was given to an SDG 10 based-project called Hear UST, designed to make use of inclusive language accessible and recognizable by the Thomasian community.

Through the Lens of a Student Leader

In an interview with one of the event delegates, UST-CASA’s Secretary Louise Elaine F. Legaspi stated that the event made her hopeful, emphasizing that there is hope through events like these, enjoining with their co-inspired leaders in empowering the SDGs towards societal change.

Through the question of the program’s impact on her sense of leadership in relation to the CASAn community, she highlighted the presence of different perspectives of leadership from her fellow student leaders which helped them collaborate in developing leadership skills for the university and co-students through her home organization.

Moreover, Legaspi mentioned a vantage point from one of the talks which was finding one’s ‘whys’ as solid grounds for looking for ways to give back to oneself, the community, and the world, which means being an active citizen beyond the university.