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By Daniela Lorraine B. Brutas
November 29, 2021 – “What better medium is there that could connect us than the arts?” Department of Education – Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service (DepEd DRRMS) Director Ronilda R. Co emphasized during the 5th National Climate Change Conference (NCCC).
Focusing on the importance of basic education in environmental action, students from the divisions of Bulacan, Roxas City, Koronadal City, and Sarangani performed an online theater show entitled #GenerationHero. This show is the highlight of their 8-week program during the conference.
The students underwent a two-month-long training with their respective advisers under the initiative of the DepEd DRRMS.
KaLIKHAsan: Likha at Lakas ng Kabataan Para sa Kalikasan, a sourcebook intended for teachers and workshop facilitators to encourage collaborative performance-making with the youth. It advocates environmental action amid the current situations with climate change.
“What better medium is there that could connect us than arts? And who could connect us better but our children and the community, who are most likely to experience adverse impacts of climate change in the 21st century?” Director Co expressed.
The #GenerationHero Online Theater Show is part of the 5th NCCC with the theme “Reinforcing the Youth’s Role on Stewardship of Biodiversity for Climate Stability,” which took place last November 19 to 25, 2021.
This was after the students’ completion of the KaLIKHAsan training sourcebook. The show entitled “A Future Threatened by Climate Change: Voices and Visions of the Youth,” developed after the 2019 Climate Action Advocacy Show, was staged at the Cultural Center Philippines.
The director further revealed that the theater show was to encourage the learners’ first-hand experiences in simplifying complex social and scientific messages for their community to advocate toward climate change education and action.
“It [KaLIKHAsan] provides a platform for both the performer and the audience to understand the current climate situation, simplifying complex social and scientific messages, and localizing climate change impacts based on the performers’ first-hand experiences,” Co concluded.
The KaLIKHAsan Creative sourcebook can be accessed at the DepEd Commons, DepEd Learning Resources Management and Development System portal or at deped.gov.ph/kalikhasan-creative-sourcebook.
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