There’s a saying that goes “the youth will inherit the earth,” so it’s important that they are equipped to run it well. This Baguio-based creativity accelerator is doing just that.
Vivita is an international organization whose aim is to encourage young minds to cultivate their creativity, agency, and critical thinking in the field of their choice with the aim of empowering them as global citizens in the future.
“Traditional creative subjects such as practical arts, theater arts and the like have largely been taken out of our school curriculum (especially in public schools) in favor of more serious and practical subjects. Often they are nurtured through extracurricular activities if at all,” said Vivita Country Manager Gabe Mercado.
“And yet educators have identified creativity as one of the key 21st century skills all learners must develop to succeed. Creativity accelerators like Vivita provide young people the environment, the tools, the mentorship and the community to work on innovative projects at no cost to them.”
Many will recognize Mercado as a comedian most known for his iconic probiotic drink commercial and his founding of improvisational comedy group Third World Improv, among other endeavors. Now, he’s donned a new hat: creativity mentor.
“Baguio was the ideal place to start because it is an education focused city, it has a medium sized population with many students, it has a vibrant startup community and is also a UNESCO Creative City, the first in the Philippines. What better place to start a creativity accelerator for kids, di ba?”
Despite opening in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic, the organization has gone on to grow a strong community of youth supporters as well as partner with different schools around the Philippines.
Vivita has presence in many countries, and each Vivistop—what they call their accelerator labs—is tailored to that specific area’s needs.
“Vivistop Baguio focuses on developing young creative entrepreneurs who design, make and sell their own products through our Make It! Market Program, we work with them to write, illustrate and publish their own books through the Vivita Books program and we give young techies the spotlight to design, make and compete with their original robot creations through our Vivita Robocon. These are just three of our signature programs that have been a big hit in Vivistop Baguio.”
For now, the program is open to Baguio residents between the ages of 8 and 18 who are “independent, self-directed and with a genuine desire to work on a creative project and would like access to materials and mentorship and a nurturing community.”
The projects the kids work on are geared towards their specific interests. Current projects include a garden design program, a printmaking program, and a robotics program that reimagines a new Lunar New Year experience by designing a new kind of dancing dragon.
Success stories include a brother (10) and sister (7) team that developed an app that promotes good governance by tracking how taxes are spent, monitoring the status of infrastructure projects, and educating kids about corruption through fun games. They got to pitch their startup to Baguio’s mayor and startup community and another is a 10-year old baker who refined her baking skills and overcame her shyness by selling to strangers, making enough buy a new set of school uniforms and some school supplies. “She continues to experiment with new recipes at Vivistop every so often even if she is in high school now,” Mercado shared.
“Since we screen for kids who are independent and self-driven, we have had very little need to supervise in the traditional sense of the word since they are all driven to work on their own projects, unlike in a school where many young people are just forced to be there.”
Mercado said that his background in comedy was an asset in running Vivita. “Being in improvisation taught me that great things happen when you respect and value your scene partner and value all their contributions and build on it. We call that “Yes, and…” It’s all about accepting and building on each other’s ideas.
“When we approach working with kids as a co-equal partnership and not the adult imposing all these things on the kids, you will be surprised at how much they blossom in a nurturing environment like that. For many of them, it’s one of the rare times when an adult takes their crazy ideas seriously and that can be incredibly empowering for them.”
Baguio is just the first step. “Vivistop Quezon City will be coming up soon! We are thrilled that Mayor Joy (Belmonte) and the leaders of QC really do share our vision of empowering the next generation of changemakers,” Mercado said. “We will be continuing to spread our youth entrepreneurship program, this time beyond Baguio in partnership with a major brand as well. Certainly we’re going beyond city limits to spread the good news far and wide.”
Baguio residents can send an email to [email protected] to schedule a tour and a trial session. (Photos courtesy of Gabe Mercado)