DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/02 August) – Tagum City, the capital of Davao del Norte, will receive its first international award next month in India from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).
The Unesco will confer the Honorable Mention of the King Sejong International Literacy Prize to the City Literacy Coordinating Council of Tagum for its “Peace Management Literacy and Continuing Education through Night Market” program.
Tagum will receive the citation in official awarding rites in India on September 8 this year.
The Unesco award came after the city was named to the Hall of Fame in Literacy during the National Literacy Awards and Conference in Manila.
The city won the said award in 2001, 2008 and 2010. The National Literacy Coordinating Council will give the Hall of Fame award in September.
Mayor Rey T. Uy, along with some members of the CLCC, will receive the bronze medal and a diploma in New Delhi from India President Pratibha Patil.
Tagum City’s literacy program was named to the award alongside similar programs in Burundi, Mexico, the US, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Pakistan.
The awarding in India would coincide with the International Conference on Women’s Literacy for Inclusive and Sustainable Development.
Tagum City’s literacy program “uses peace education activities, literacy and entrepreneurship to generate employment opportunities for marginalized populations and sustain a peaceful urban environment”, said a statement from the City Information Office.
It said that Irina Bokova, director-general of Unesco, “announced Tagum’s historic win after it went through a rigorous scrutiny by a Unesco-assembled international jury which met July 4-8 in Paris, France”.
“In the official letter of Mmantsetsa Marope, director of Unesco’s Division for Basic to Higher Education and Learning sent to Tagum City Mayor Rey T. Uy, the jury appreciated the city’s initiative to introduce and institutionalize literacy programmes for out-of-school youth and adults combined with peace education activities,” the statement said.
“They were also impressed by the program for having provided accreditation in basic education and functional literacy for a great number of graduates,” it added.
Uy lauded city employees during his Monday’s speech at city hall and “stressed that this award is a recognition of his administration’s bold agenda for education and later vowed to strengthen the education programs of the city with all heart and dedication”. (MindaNews)