BUTUAN CITY- The Local Social Welfare Development Office (LSWDOs) and Social Welfare Development- Learning Network (SWD-LNet) members convened during the year-end SWD Forum cum Knowledge Fair hosted by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-Caraga on November 17, 2017 at Goat 2geder Hotel and Restaurant, this city.
This year’s SWD forum bears the theme, “Strengthening Synergy with Various Stakeholders Through Knowledge Sharing”. The said event intensifies the knowledge sharing mechanism of DSWD-Caraga by employing interactive structured activities, thereby capturing the “gems” or brilliant ideas of the participants for learning purposes. The forum is spearheaded by the Knowledge Management Team (KMT) of the department.
The program officially started through an inspiring message delivered by OIC Regional Director Mita Chuchi Gupana-Lim.
“The SWD Forum is designed to facilitate discussion on matters along SWD, including policy issues and concerns, research studies, SWD legislations, technical sharing, issues and trends on national development plan and international commitments and orientation on national projects of the DSWD,” said Lim.
“Our previous engagements had been successful, all thanks to the commitment of our partner-stakeholders. This forum has been a venue in strengthening our programs and services, through our partnerships, in providing utmost service to the poor and marginalized sectors of the society,” she added.
In the morning session, PSU/IDD Chief Angelita B. Amista, spearheaded the launch of the Caraga Disaster Response Reporting and Information Management System (CDRRIMS), an innovation initiated by the Disaster Response Assistance and Management Unit (DReAMU)-Caraga.
“CDRRIMS is a web-based electronic information system where all disaster related information can be accessed easily. Its main objective is to establish a database system that will serve as storage of all disaster events related information for disaster response and disaster reporting,” shared Amista.
In the afternoon, the forum transformed into a learning session where participants participated the “Knowledge Fair: It’s More Fun Learning with Others!” through a Quiz Bowl Competition followed by the interactive knowledge fair.
The LSWDOs were divided according to district. Each team is composed of three members. Questions were also divided into 5 categories, namely, SWD L-Net, laws and issuances for the protection of children, DRR and Climate Change Adaptation, current events, and SWD programs and services.
For the 1st Quiz Bowl Competition, team SWD L-Net got the first place, while SDN 1st and 2nd District ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively.
In addition, every core program of the Field Office installed booths and displayed updates, initiatives, and innovations. During the fair, hosts of each booth responded to the queries of the visiting partners and also distributed IEC materials.
The Knowledge Fair encourages all participants to embrace the law of two feet, where it inspires them to contribute, share, enjoy, and add value in their learning journey. The Law of Two Feet speaks to the idea of OPT IN PARTICIPATION. This idea of “opting in” or “opting out” of various choices and opportunities in every given time gives each one the liberty to move around liberally and explore to every booth they desired.
Before the forum ended, OIC Lim led the awarding ceremony for the nine winning entries of GP documentation participated by the LGUs and SWD-LNet members. They received a plaque of recognition and one unit of laptop worth Php12, 000, while the non-winning entries received certificate of participation and token.
Other awards were also given to Listahanan Unit and LGU Bayabas for winning the Best Booth display for Field Office and LGU category respectively during the fair.###(ABEGAIL R. ALVAREZ/Social Marketing Unit/DSWD Field Office Caraga)
