The Department of Education (DepEd) TV has been conferred the Grand Prize for Outstanding Thematic Presentation in SIGNIS Asia TV Conference held in South Korea last week.
SIGNIS Asia, one of the regional groupings of the SIGNIS, the World Catholic Association for Communication, recognized the efforts of DepEd TV for making learning informative and entertaining for learners, parents, and teachers.
“The entire DepEd family is truly proud of the DepEd TV team for their relentless dedication and innovative efforts to support our learners. This award is the latest testament of the hard work they put in pursuit of learning continuity. We will continue to improve this initiative while exploring more platforms that can transform education and make it accessible for all,” DepEd Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said in a statement.
The theme of the event is “Bridging Over the Pandemic- Invitation to a New Catholic Communication”. The conference is aimed at highlighting the essential role of TV in the context of the pandemic, both for human beings and churches, the SIGNIS Asia said in its website.
The juries hailed DepEd TV Teacher-Broadcasters for their hard work,passion, dedication, and resilience amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del Pascua said their DepEd TV project highlighted the spirit of Bayanihan and the agency’s dedication to ensure learning continuity.
“Our project was anchored on the mandate from Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones that ‘Education must continue, no matter what.’ The project was buoyed by the spirit of Bayanihan and in the context of Catholic Social Teachings, the call to family and community to show solidarity by participating in the activities,” he said.
It was DepEd TV Lead Consultant Paolo Bediones who received the award on behalf of DepEd. He presented to the conference a brief history of DepEd TV, the journey of the Teacher Broadcasters, and the lessons produced for the DepEd TV and DepEd Commons platforms.
The DepEd noted that representatives from 11 countries, including the Philippines "shared their experiences and insights on serving Catholic communications on television and online amid the pandemic” during the awarding ceremony.
The DepEd TV project also previously bagged the Policymaker Edtech Champion Award. It was also recognized finalist for the Crisis and Conflict Response Award, EdTech Leader in Asia Silver Awardee from EduTech Asia, shortlisted for Dedicated Teacher Awards 2021 by Cambridge University Press, among others.
SIGNIS Asia aims to foster and coordinate communication activities in the regions of South Asia, South East Asia, and East Asia.
The Information and Communications Technology Service headed by Director Abram Y.C. Abanil spearheads DepEd TV and DepEd Commons programs. The ICT Service is under the Administration Strand led by Pascua and Assistant Secretary Salvador Malana III.