ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Entertainment devider Hallyuwood devider PH project among 10 chosen in UNESCO-Seventeen youth initiative

PH project among 10 chosen in UNESCO-Seventeen youth initiative

Published Jun 26, 2026 09:47 am
Seventeen's Joshua speaking at the Seventeen X UNESCO event in Paris (Pledis Entertainment)
Seventeen's Joshua speaking at the Seventeen X UNESCO event in Paris (Pledis Entertainment)

A Philippine community library initiative was named one of just 10 youth-led projects worldwide selected for expansion under UNESCO and K-pop group Seventeen's Global Youth Grant Scheme, as member Joshua attended a celebration at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on June 25.

The Philippines' Project Palabasa, a grassroots literacy program in Iloilo, earned a spot in the scheme's new Scale-Up Phase after being chosen from 100 youth-led projects across 64 countries supported by Seventeen's $1 million donation.

Joshua represented Seventeen at the ceremony, "UNESCO x Seventeen: Celebrating Youth, Creativity and Well-Being Together," which also marked the group's second anniversary as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Youth.

"This initiative was designed to provide young people with the resources, mentorship, and platforms to turn their ideas into meaningful action," Joshua said, adding that the group remains committed to supporting youth-led initiatives around the world.

The original grant program reached more than 21,000 direct beneficiaries and engaged over 1.2 million people online, according to UNESCO.

Among the 100 projects, only 10 from countries including the Philippines, Mexico, Ghana, Morocco, Romania, Nigeria, Panama, Canada, Egypt and China were selected for additional funding and expansion through December 2026.

Founded by Mary Rose Pagador, Juliana Rose Pagador and Eula Pauline Noquilla, Project Palabasa was established in Barangay Particion, Guimbal, Iloilo to address literacy gaps by creating community libraries stocked with local and inclusive literature.

The initiative has already benefited more than 350 learners and, under the Scale-Up Phase, aims to establish literacy spaces in four more communities.

Pagador attended the Paris ceremony representing the Philippine project.

UNESCO Director-General Khaled El Enany praised the partnership with Seventeen, saying the "Going Together" initiative empowers young people through creativity while helping address inequality, promote sustainable development and build peace.

Seventeen's Joshua (sixth from left) with the Philippines Mary Rose Pagador (fifth from left), one of the founders of Project Palabasa, at the Seventeen X UNESCO event in Paris (Pledis Entertainment)
Seventeen's Joshua (sixth from left) with the Philippines Mary Rose Pagador (fifth from left), one of the founders of Project Palabasa, at the Seventeen X UNESCO event in Paris (Pledis Entertainment)
Mary Rose Pagador, one of the founders of Project Palabasa, in Paris (Photo from UP Visayas' College of Management Facebook page)
Mary Rose Pagador, one of the founders of Project Palabasa, in Paris (Photo from UP Visayas' College of Management Facebook page)
Project Palabasa in the Philippines (Photo from Project Palabasa's Facebook page)
Project Palabasa in the Philippines (Photo from Project Palabasa's Facebook page)
Project Palabasa in the Philippines (Photo from Project Palabasa's Facebook page)
Project Palabasa in the Philippines (Photo from Project Palabasa's Facebook page)

Thank you very much.

Seventeen's Joshua speaking at the Seventeen X UNESCO event in Paris (Pledis Entertainment)
Seventeen's Joshua speaking at the Seventeen X UNESCO event in Paris (Pledis Entertainment)
Seventeen's Joshua speaking at the Seventeen X UNESCO event in Paris (Pledis Entertainment)
Seventeen's Joshua speaking at the Seventeen X UNESCO event in Paris (Pledis Entertainment)
Seventeen's video message (Pledis Entertainment)
Seventeen's video message (Pledis Entertainment)
Seventeen's Joshua speaking at the Seventeen X UNESCO event in Paris (Pledis Entertainment)
Seventeen's Joshua speaking at the Seventeen X UNESCO event in Paris (Pledis Entertainment)

Related Tags

Seventeen X UNESCO UNESCO Seventeen Joshua of Seventeen Project Palabasa
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ static_articles_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.