Breakthrough on social building

ALL goes according to plan, the partnership initiatives of the Philippine Statistical Association (PSA) SOCCSKSARGEN, Inc. and the General Santos Sarangani Social Workers Association (GENSARWAI) Foundation, Inc. that co-hosted the 1st Natioanl Conference on Social Planning, Evaluation and Statistics -- made the breakthrough in creating opportunities for collaboration and cooperation among the local government planners and social development workers nationwide.

Professor Jerome Babate (the president of PSA SOCCSAKSARGEN) invited me through email a week ago before the scheduled conference on October 3-4, to participate as their resource facilitator for skills building workshop on Social Planning. Jerome told me that my school mate in college, Butch Batilong (the Executive Director of GENSARWAI Foundation, Inc.) is the chair of the conference organizing committee.



The two-day conference was a very fruitful learning exercise among the participants during the skills-building workshop sessions which provides an open discussion and sharing of various social development practices and work experiences in their respective local government areas.

Here below is the listing of the conference sessions:

Visioning a Province-Focused Development	Manual Lastimoso Sultan Kudarat Provincial Administrator Engr. Adella Fiesta MPA, Asst. CPDC LGU Cotabato City Engr. Agnes Daguro MPA, CPDC LGU Koronadal City
Perspective and Techniques on Social Planning	Hector Miñoza Development Consultant, PROUT Study
Community-based Survey: Sampling Methods	Celedonio Ines MOS (Statistical Consultant)
Asset-Based Community Development	Faustino Jerome Babate RN MBA (Research Specialist)
Small Area Estimation	Engr. Zarinah Aligsao MAS (Applied Statistical Consultant)
Professional Conversation	Tom Hart MAEd (Consultant)
Poverty-based Mapping	Tony Irving Development Consultant, UK
Social Planning in Community Development	Florita Villar DSWD Assistant Secretary Hermocilos Batilong MSW, MAEd (Development Consultant)
Behavioral Surveillance	Wilfredo Bidad PhD (Research Consultant)
Appreciative Inquiry	Juniper Bibliolata RN (Development Consultant)

cheer to the conference organizer!!!