Mast Chronicle Staffers Attend Regional Media Cultural Awareness Conference

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in partnership with the Western Mindanao State University's (WMSU) Research, Extension and Development Program conducted a regional conference @ The Celebrity Hall, Grand Astoria Hotel last September 26-27, 2008 dubbed as "Regional Media Cultural Awareness for Region IX". Staffers of the Mast Chronicle of the Zamboanga State College of Marine Sciences and Technology to wit: Dr. Dave Ornado (Adviser), Mary Grace S. Cagay (Editor-in-Chief), Jellah Mae B. Aguirre (Associate Editor), Charity Tambalo (News Editor) and Mac Vella Mayonado (Feature Editor) actively participated in the said activity.

The conference aims to make people aware, learn, and be proud of and understand and appreciate culture and arts; to enhance the media's role in preserving, promoting and disseminating culture and arts vis-à-vis globalization; discuss the effects of globalization on culture and arts; and discuss the role of communication and media in promoting peace and cultural integration.

The two-day cultural awareness conference invited as resource persons government and private individuals who are experts on culture and media, like Dr. Vilma Labrador, NCAA Chairperson and Department of Education (DepEd) undersecretary; Publishers Association of the Philippines Inc. president Juan Dayang; Professor Pilar Bautista, consultant, Office of the Presidential Adviser on Education, Malacanang; Dr. Victorio Sugbo, UP-Visayas professor; Dr. Aleli Quirante, chair, Department of Communication Research, UP-CMC; and Bernard Gregorio, acting head, Department of Tourism (DOT), among others.

Topics discussed include: (1) Appreciation and Understanding Mindanao Culture and Arts, (2) Globalization, Media, and Culture, (3) Cultural Research, Preservation, and Promotion, (4) Cultural Tourism, (5) Media Coverage on Culture and Arts, (6) Community Awareness and Participation in Culture and Arts Preservation, (7) LGU Initiatives, Programs, and Agenda in Cultural Preservation and Promotion, and (8) Media Planning Workshop: Creating a Cultural Page in a Local Paper.