The Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) “Science Nation: Agham na Ramdam” makes its next stop in Cagayan Valley Region starting March 24, 2015 as the nationwide roadshow aiming to make science “felt” by the average Filipino moves to its second leg in Tuguegarao City.
A premier showcase of DOST’s science and technology (S&T) programs and success stories, “Science Nation: Agham na Ramdam” is set to tour the country’s 17 regions in 2015 to allow Filipinos of varying social and economic brackets to see and experience how science affects their daily lives.
Scheduled from March 24-26, 2015, the event will feature activities reflecting DOST’s bid to integrate science in efforts toward progress and inclusive growth in various venues in the city.
Foremost of these is the SETUP Summit. SETUP, or Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program, is a DOST centerpiece program which extends assistance to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs ) in the country via funding, technology upgrade, and manpower training. SETUP Summit will feature product exhibits from SETUP beneficiaries in the region. It will run the full three-day course of “Agham na Ramdam” during which media visits to two SETUP beneficiaries in Isabela will also take place.
Another highlight is a project visit to Tuguegarao City’s Food Innovation Center (FIC) on March 24. The FIC serves as the regional base for breakthroughs in food technology. DOST establishes FICs around the country to help MSMEs become more competitive both in the local and global markets via food testing, packaging and labeling design, training and consultancy, and other services.
In another major event, DOST will honor the city of Cauayan in Isabela for being the first local government unit in Region II in adopting the Philippine Standard Time or PhST, through DOST’s campaign called “Juan Time.” The city also is the first LGU in the entire country to provide all of its 65 barangays with precision timepieces synchronized to PhST.
DOST-II will also name its science ambassadors during the opening ceremony at the Red Eagle Gymnasium, Cagayan State University Carig Campus on March 24. The science ambassadors will support the Department in its advocacy and other programs.
Other activities in the event include S&T fora for MSME owners and staff, career guidance and leadership training for the youth, inauguration of a ceramics water filter project in Santa Maria, Isabela, groundbreaking ceremony for the Cauayan City Science Museum in San Luis, Isabela, and launching of the Smarter City initiative in Cauayan City, the first urban local government to adopt the Smarter City concept in Region 2.
Smarter City is part of the Smarter Philippines masterplan which aims to jumpstart the economy of secondary cities’ through DOST-sponsored technologies, and cause spillover progress to neighboring communities.
Other activities are a zumba session, science film showings and a concert titled “Science and Music: Aghamtahan” on March 24 featuring Marcelito Pomoy, among others. #ScienceNationR02 (S&T Media Service)
