The Conveners (Part 2)

Schools are drivers for social change. They play a crucial role in development by providing people with research, systematic learning, skills training, and resource generation capability to uplift their lives for the better. When education is accessible to all, it creates an enabling environment for an inclusive society where nobody is left out. When the poor gain access to good-quality learning, change happens. Isn’t that what the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 Agenda by the United Nations is all about? Does lack of access to education contribute significantly to poverty and inequality?

So when the presidents and executives of five schools in Bicol - three SUCs and two private schools - came together with Tabang Bikol Movement last August 28 and agreed to convene a summit of social enterprises with the poor as the primary stakeholders, it was an occasion to behold.  I have always believed that access to education is a powerful tool for social change; it is the power to change mindsets, values, and lifestyles. In a country like the Philippines, and in a region like Bicol that is not only poor but vulnerable to disaster, education, though not the decisive change maker,  is a magic wand that can help make things happen.

In my column last week, I introduced two of the conveners -   the innovative Central Bicol State University in Agriculture (CBSUA) President Albert Naperi and the enterprising Naga College Foundation (NCF) President Mario Villanueva, both very supportive school administrators whose shared vision for the future include promoting sustainable social enterprises as a way for the poor and marginalized sectors of society to escape the rut of poverty and work toward resilience. They believe that convening the Regional Social Enterprises Summit 2024 on October 25-26 at the Atrium, CBSUA, as educators and administrators of different competing schools alongside the private, business, NGO, and public sectors is in itself a milestone.

The two-year Social Enterprises Development research and training project of the Mariners Polytechnic Colleges Foundation with the Commission on Higher Education that began last January 2023 in communities in Camarines Sur and Albay exemplifies such meaningful collaboration. A striking lesson from that project is that social conditions like poverty, inequality, lack of access to opportunities, formal finance, inadequate public health systems, and weak social safety nets are a bane and deterrent to progress. Constantly financially burdened, people cannot focus and give their best to learn under extreme want conditions. Setting up a subsidized multistakeholder Social Enterprise Academy for the poor and learning from the masters and experts provides an enabling environment that inspires learning and growth. A law specific to sustainable social enterprises is in order. The conveners agree.

BISCAST: 102 years of service

Dr. Alex Navarozza is president of Bicol State College of Applied Sciences and Technology (BISCAST), now converted into the Southeast Asian University of Technology (SEAUTech) through Republic Act No. 11585, which offers engineering programs of innovation, namely Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics, and Civil Engineering. The Summit, he says, is part of corporate social responsibility and a commitment he shares with other conveners to serve according to one’s expertise and resources.  As a social activity, engineering is essential in every aspect of social entrepreneurship. Under his leadership, President Navarozza shows how BISCAST can explore the pivotal role of technology in shaping social enterprises, highlighting the transformative power of digital innovation. Technology is a catalyst for positive change in the social sector. Education for social enterprises should stress technology and renewable energy.

Bicol University: University for Humanity

Dr. Baby Boy Benjamin D. Nebres, III is the president of the Bicol University in Daraga, Albay, who says that holding this regional Summit for social entrepreneurs in Bicol is a “strategic move” to drive inclusive economic growth, build disaster-resilient communities, and help reduce poverty in Bicol.” It provides a forum for dialogue among diverse sectors—producers, academics, entrepreneurs, and policymakers—with the potential to transform Bicol’s socioeconomic landscape through innovative social enterprises. By participating, institutions like BU and other SUCs play a crucial role in harnessing local resources, talents, and knowledge to solve real-world problems, with collaboration across sectors for sustainable development and disaster preparedness.  BU’s business management niche can contribute significantly to developing entrepreneurial and managerial skills of social enterprises, micro-entrepreneurs, cooperatives, and local enterprises for operational efficiency, profitability, and social impact.

Mariners Polytechnic Colleges Foundation, SED project, and TBM

Dr Marilisa Jimenez-Ampuan, MPCF president agrees. She emphasized that the Summit is a most welcome opportunity for Mariners and other schools to demonstrate the value of sharing and extending support to all stakeholders, especially the youth, who are our primary constituency in the school, and the women in the communities of disaster survivors so they can work to build their enterprises to uplift themselves from poverty toward sustainable economic growth. What we have we can share. Its two-year SED with the CHEd and partnership with the TBM is a social clincher. Mariners has an expansive reach of coastal barangays in Bicol through its NSTP and extension programs where social enterprises in mangrove preservation, renewable energy, dengue deterrent citronella production run by solar power, campus-based services of Barbero Marinero and Hilot-Akyu health-based social enterprises run the community.  Dr. Ampuan is also the president of the Bikol Association of Tourism and Hospitality Educators (BATHE).