We wish the best for the finest of the young writers in the region when the series of competitions in the Regional Schools Conference will begin next week at Iloilo Grand Hotel in Iloilo City.
The secondary level individual competition is scheduled on March 29 and 30 while the elementary level events will be held on April 5 and 6.
Group contests – in both elementary and secondary levels – are set on April 1 and 2.
The individual contests include news, editorial, column, feature, sports and science and technology reporting as well as editorial cartooning, copyreading and headline writing and photojournalism.
Group contests include collaborative desktop publishing and radio broadcasting, both in elementary and secondary levels, while the online news publishing and television news scriptwriting and production competitions will be held only in the secondary level.
All competitions will be held on both English and Filipino categories.
The regional conference will be participated in by contest winners in division-level qualifying events.
The RSPC will be participated in by the qualifiers from 21 schools divisions in Western Visayas, including 13 in Negros Occidental.
In addition to the individual and group contests, the RSPC will also choose the best school papers in the region.
The top regional winners will advance to the National Schools Press Conference which will be held in Vigan City.
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March 16 will be marked as Freedom of Information Day
The day coincides with the birth anniversary if James Madison, the fourth President of the United States, who is known as the “Father of the U.S. Constitution”.
He was instrumental in the drafting of the United States Constitution and is known as the author of the United States Bill of Rights.
Madison treated freedom of information and individual rights as “a very important issue.” The day is observed in the United States and many parts of the world.
Freedom of information is considered “an extension of freedom of speech, a fundamental human right recognized in international law, which is today understood more generally as freedom of expression in any medium, be it orally, in writing, print, through the Internet or through art forms.”
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At the forefront of the observance is UNESCO, which advocates for access to information as a fundamental freedom and a key pillar in building inclusive knowledge societies.
UNESCO underscores “that access to information serves as an integral part of freedom of expression and is an important tool for promoting the rule of law, other rights and building trust.”
Information, the agency added, “is an enabler for sustainable development in areas such as health, environment, addressing poverty and fighting corruption.”
More than ever today, in a world where rumors, hearsays and half-truths may be peddled as news, we cannot overemphasize the role of accurate, valid and reliable information – which must be made accessible to people – for the growth and development of people, communities and societies.
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Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:32) | NWI
