May 18, 2006 · Posted in: General

A tiangge of ideas

THIRSTY for fresh, innovative ideas that make a real difference in people’s lives? Then this exhibition is for you.

On May 26, eighty-seven organizations from across the country will showcase their development projects in the 2nd Philippine Development Innovation Marketplace or Panibagong Paraan, organized by the World Bank.

Dubbed as “a tiangge of ideas” and carrying the theme, “Development with Equity,” Panibagong Paraan will feature projects that have been chosen as finalists among more than 900 that were presented to the World Bank and its partners late last year. Among the 87 finalists, 50 projects will win financial grants of a million pesos each.

The projects attempt to fill in gaps in basic needs of communities in the grassroots, such as energy and water, education and literacy, health, livelihood and employment. Issues of governance are likewise addressed.

The projects are considered “small-scale,” as they are implemented by either local government units and nongovernment or people’s organizations in their respective communities.

There are projects, for instance, designing a community approach to the elimination of child labor; responding to the consequences to children of migration; a “musical ‘informance'” on violence against women and HIV/AIDS; and rediscovering the medicinal value of mini-forests.

“Like the rays of the sun, these small successes, ideas and sentiments for positive change — when adopted, replicated and scaled up — can gradualy radiate to other segments and communities of the country, and illuminate the path to development that benefits all, and not just a few,” the organizers said.

Those who will win the financial grants are those with the most potential for sustainable growth, said Esperanza Cabral of the social welfare department, upon the announcement of the finalists on Tuesday. “Each innovative idea will be measured based on its ability to be replicated and scaled up, in hopes of bridging economic disparities on the national and local level,” Cabral said.

The 1st Panibagong Paraan was held in 2004, with the theme, “Making Services Work for the Poor.” PCIJ’s i-site.ph was among the 60 winners that year. i-site was cited for “its contribution to promote better governance as it seeks to educate the public on the performance of government officials, evaluate programs and make enlightened choices during elections, by providing access to user-friendly information through a one-stop portal on Philippine politics and government.”

The exhibition and awarding of the 2nd Panibagong Paraan will be held at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong.

Click here for the Panibagong Paraan website.

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