TPEF Holds Learning Summit 2018
This year’s Scholars Learning Summit’s theme, “Nurturing Relationships. Fostering Positive Change.” highlighted new beginnings and strengthened collaborations among scholars, held on April 27 to May 1, with 97 participants. As scholars’ relationships are strengthened and nurtured through various ways, positive changes will most likely spread and embed to individual scholars and to their organization, creating ripples of change to other people and communites, as well as further develop them as better persons.
A two-day training was designed and participated by 25 graduating and alumni scholars, the first batch of trained scholars, which hoped to harness the potentials of the scholars and engage them to share their time and learned skills in the foundation’s development initiatives in the remote areas.
A first for the foundation, the highly interactive workshop entitled “Initiate Change. Improve Lives. A Training of Trainors & Facilitators (ToTF)” equipped the participants with basic skills in facilitation and module making processes. A hands-on training, the participants, divided into two workshop groups, went through the whole process of implementing a training— designing a structured learning experience module, preparing the materials, visual aid, input needed and SLE power point presentation, identifying tasks per individual, and lastly, executing the prepared module with the other workshop group as the training participants. The two-day training concluded with feedback giving and reflection activities.
Another first is the peer mentoring project, formally launched on April 29, with an orientation and assembly of the mentors and mentees. The Scholars SHARE (Share Hope, Advice, Relief & Encouragement) Peer Mentoring is a pilot collaborative effort, with some senior and alumni scholars, the mentors, and the incoming first year college scholars, the mentees.
Mentees—the new scholars—share their goals to their mentors.
Discussed during the orientation were the purpose, principles, scope and basic guidelines on mentoring. A dyad between the mentor and the mentee was also done which enabled them to get acquainted with each other establishing further the mentoring relationship. A commitment exercise followed, in which the mentees wrote their individual commitment, agreed schedule of mentoring, identified means of communication and commitment statements both from the mentors and the mentees.
“Invoke Goodwill. An Orientation on Volunteerism” was also conducted, providing the graduating and alumni scholars participants the principles and some do’s and don’ts in volunteering. The training stressed the values of respect, sensitivity, adaptability, and flexibility in relating and working with other people and to the community’s culture, ways, and beliefs, with some concrete circumstances shared by the trainor in his community work in coastal and farming areas.
Various workshops of scholars— on Financial Literacy
Simultaneous training-workshops, on self-awareness and self -expression through dance, communication and netizen ethics participated by incoming first year college scholars, financial literacy, and sustainable lifestyle, incoming fourth year college scholars, and acing one’s presentation for graduating scholars were also held. Other activities included orientations on self-regulated and empowerment strategy for new scholars, SRES update for current scholars, policies, and guidelines on scholars’ engagement in social media and commitment signing of new scholars.
On Communication & public Speaking
On Self-Awareness and Self-Expression
Almost every night, the whole group convened and participated in the awarding of exemplary scholars, presentation of community outreach 2017, planning for 2018 outreach, and solidarity night which featured the scholars’ various talents. Educators, journalist, foundation’s board member, life coach and wellness mentor, development workers from non-government organizations were among the pool of trainors.
The five-day learning summit culminated with a talk “Befriending your Inner Voice and Discover Compassion for Oneself” facilitated by Dr. Maryfe Roxas, educator and counsellor. Here, all scholars were provided the opportunity to retrospect and look ‘from the inside out’ after participating in several skills and value formation trainings, for a balanced, more meaningful personal growth and group learning.