As IBON Foundation celebrates its 30th anniversary, the IBON Partnership in Education for Development (IPED) continues its work in helping Filipino educators realize transformative education by successfully holding the 11th National Educators’ Conference in Baguio City, Northern Philippines last May 7-10, 2008.

Carrying the theme “People’s Governance and Challenges to Transformative Educators”, the conference engaged participants in a series of lectures, discussions and workshops on issues such as corruption, the country’s fiscal and debt situation, and the status of basic sectors. The Educators’ Forum for Development (EFD), an association of educators committed to social transformation, co-sponsored the event.

For this national conference, IPED gathered some 60 educators and administrators from more than 40 public and private elementary and high schools around the country, including representatives from regional offices of the Department of Education (DepEd).

At a time of renewed calls for President Gloria Arroyo to step down following allegations of bribery in the government’s broadband network contract with Chinese firm ZTE, on top of previous corruption allegations, the need for good governance and public accountability is an urgent assertion for Filipinos.

The IPED Conference thus provided an ideal venue for Filipino educators to be abreast of pressing national issues. Prof. Bobby Tuazon of the Center for People’s Empowerment and Governance gave a talk on the pervasive and systemic nature of corruption in the Philippines. For his part, Arnold Padilla, spokesperson of the No Deal! Movement Against Unequal Economic Agreements, gave educators a primer on how the country’s continuing economic crisis is rooted in foreign-imposed policies, using the ongoing rice crisis as case study.

Baguio-based resource persons then briefed educators on the status of social movements in the country. Pio Verzola Jr. of the Northern Media Information Network presented the prospects for a renewal of people power forces in the country, while Inabuyog-Gabriela Chairperson Vernie Diano provided a situationer on the people’s struggles in Northern Philippines.

IBON Executive Editor Rosario Bella Guzman then engaged the educators in a lively discussion on Transformative Education. The other seminars informed participants on the roots of the country’s debt crisis (presented by IBON Executive Director Jazminda Buncan) and on the context of aid and the question of aid effectiveness (discussed by IBON Research Head Sonny Africa). Migrante Chairperson Connie Bragas-Regalado then talked about development financing, seen from the viewpoint of overseas Filipino contract workers and their role in the Philippine economy.

More importantly, the conference also provided workshops for the participants –centering on issue themes such as fiscal crisis, social services and social displacement – that allowed educators to exercise their creative and processing skills in integrating the themes into productive presentations. The event was capped with cultural presentations and contributions from educators themselves.

IBON is the only non-government organization in the Philippines that has a partnership program with local educational institutions. The annual national educators’ conference is part of IPED’s services, which also include development of social studies supplements and textbooks, and free seminars on major national issues and transformative education including curriculum development. IBON Foundation, Inc.