The first-ever Western Visayas Impact Summit was able to gather sectoral leaders in the region to listen to invited speakers talk about the socio-economic landscape of the country and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG), held at the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) Little Theater on May 10, 2024.
The inaugural summit featured Atty. Rowena Guanzon, retired Commissioner of the Commission on Elections; Dr. Cielo Magno of the UP Schools of Economics; Cavite Provincial Board Member Kerby Javier Salazar; and Ms. Nicole Ng of the Food Bank Singapore, as the plenary speakers.
The discussions included women’s rights to equality and exclusivity; institutions, investment policies, and macroeconomic conditions; youth leadership development; and addressing hunger through food security.
The speakers discussed how they incorporated the UNSDG into their operations. The summit emphasized the speakers’ experiences to inspire the attendees to view sustainability as a competitive advantage.
After the session, the participants were divided into three groups for the breakout sessions, which featured the general topics of disaster management; peace and justice; and social development.
Mr. Aljo Quintans, SDG Specialist of the UN Development Programme in the Philippines, in his keynote speech, shared insights on the SDG, including the country’s progress towards achieving them and ways to accelerate the achievement of the SDG.
Chancellor Clement Camposano and Engr. Fulbert Woo, representing UP Visayas and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) – Iloilo chapter, respectively, gave their responses and calls to action during the program.
Their responses focused on understanding inequality from an education standpoint and collaborations for inclusivity, respectively.
Ms. Maria Fe Villamejor-Mendoza, Objective 2 Lead of the USAID Urban Connect, in her response, urged the attendees to contribute their unique ideas as their insights can help the future that the general population wants.
The inaugural Western Visayas Impact Summit was organized by the PCCI - Iloilo and the One Network Philippines Initiative, co-presented by the Iloilo Provincial Government and UP Visayas.
