JICA announces winners of poster design competition for Northern Luzon high school students

The following is a press release from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Ten poster designs were chosen as winners in the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) poster design competition from 20 high schools in Northern Luzon from among 416 entries.

The poster design competition is part of JICA’s commemoration of the Japan-Philippine Friendship Month this July. The winning poster designs will be exhibited at the Tanabata Festival Week in Baguio, a yearly celebration marking the friendship between Japan and the Philippines.

The top poster design winners were: Krissia Pauline C. Castillo (first place), Grade 10 student from Baguio City National High School for her artwork “United” depicting JICA projects (Patapat Viaduct, Maternal and Child Health Services in the Cordillera, Benguet General Hospital, and Safe Vegetable Farming); Rosario D. Mabalot (second place), Grade 12 student from Rosario Integrated School in La Union for her artwork “Love Over War” illustrating unity between Philippines and Japan; and Enrico G. Casuga (third place), Grade 10 student also from Rosario Integrated School for his artwork “My Child. My Dreams” highlighting how JICA’s projects are focusing on helping people ensure a bright future for children.

The final winners were selected by JICA Chief Representative Yoshio Wada and a team of Japanese and Filipino development specialists. Entries were judged based on their relationship to the theme, creativity, originality, and relevance to JICA’s work in the Philippines.

JICA also awarded a special prize for Labrador National High School in Pangasinan for submitting the most number of entries to the competition.

“The poster design competition played a role in introducing JICA’s work supporting Philippine development for the past 60 years to Filipino students. The creativity of the entries was inspiring and judging the winners was quite a challenge,” said JICA Chief Representative Yoshio Wada.

“Engaging the Filipino youth is one of our priorities this year. We’d like to hear their voices on development issues and broaden their understanding of JICA-Philippine bilateral relations,” added Wada.

Since the 1960s, JICA has been implementing development cooperation activities all over the Philippines, including Northern Luzon. In the aftermath of the Baguio earthquake in 1990, JICA was among the first to extend assistance through road disaster prevention measures against landslides and falling rocks via transport infrastructure projects like the Naguilian Road and Rosario-Pugo-Baguio Road (Marcos Highway). Through JICA’s assistance, said road is now the preferred access road to Baguio.

Aside from infrastructure, JICA’s assistance in Northern Luzon also came in the form of dispatch of Japanese volunteers to support farming and sustainable tourism, construction of Benguet General Hospital, a hydropower facility in Ifugao, training of young farmers in Japan to conserve the Ifugao Rice Terraces and maternal and child health services, to name a few.

The winning posters will be displayed at the Baguio Museum from August 5 to 29.

 – Rappler.com/Press Release