NIGHT OWL As technology continues to progress at an accelerated pace, the digital divide further widens. In fact, the digital divide is becoming the new face of gender inequality. Access to digital technology and ensuring digital literacy, especially among women, indigenous peoples, and other...
NIGHT OWL Recently, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos unveiled another of her heritage building restoration projects that serves as a tribute to the country’s past leaders, as it welcomes state and government leaders from different parts of the world. Through its façade alone—which features a...
NIGHT OWL Here in the Philippines, classes are usually suspended in the event of typhoons or heavy rains and flooding. But in recent weeks, classes had to shift to asynchronous mode as the scorching heat — which has reached 40 degrees Celsius and above — has become unbearable, especially to...
NIGHT OWL Last April 19, I was offered a platform at the Impact-WorldBank24X event at George Washington University to share not only my personal journey but also a critical message on the power of inclusive resilience and sustainable development. Hailing from the Philippines, a country with a rich...
NIGHT OWL A few years back, the only war we hadwas against a virus. We were all bent on fighting off the disease that brought the world to a pause and changed the way we live. We all wanted to preserve as many lives then. Today, while the scars of the pandemic have yet to fade, new...
NIGHT OWL American author Neal Stephenson is credited for coining the term “ metaverse ” that he used in his 1992 book, Snow Crash, to describe a virtual world where people interact with one another through avatars. Thirty years since, the metaverse is now part of our reality. The...
NIGHT OWL In the 1930s, the Philippines used to have 1,140 kilometers of railroad track, but the acceleration of urbanization, population growth, and modernization resulted in a shift to a car-centric culture, which eventually caused the decline of rail lines. In recent years, however, the...
NIGHT OWL Eleven years ago, when Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina was elected as the new pope, he chose the name Francis in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi, who he described as “the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation.” The Pope’s chosen name also...
NIGHT OWL When single-use plastics were on the nascent stage, they were advertised as the better alternatives to those that prevailed in the market then, which were paper and cloth bags. Less than a century after its accidental creation in 1933, we are reverting to paper and cloth bags as the...
NIGHT OWL Oftentimes, when life turns out different than what we’ve planned, it ends up even better. Such is the case of UK’s Upper Tribunal Judge Timothy Herrington; thanks to his wife who persuaded him to apply for the job instead of retiring. Judge Herrington was a judge at the Upper...
NIGHT OWL As part of our efforts to make our cities and communities sustainable, which is among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we need to make urban spaces that are safe, inclusive, resilient and green. This includes making these spaces walkable through safe and accessible...
NIGHT OWL Before the dawn of the internet, we would get our news from traditional media. When we had to research, we would consult our encyclopedias, or visit our libraries, scouring over books, spending several hours reading experts’ studies and research papers. It was time-consuming, but we...
