4^TH ASEAN QUIZ

REGIONAL COMPETITION

30 November-1 December 2009

Quezon City, Philippines

_______________________________________________________________________

The 4^th ASEAN Quiz Regional Competition brought together twenty seven students aged 15 to 18 from the nine (9) ASEAN Member States to participate in a friendly quiz competition from 30 November to 4 December 2009.  Hosted by the Philippines and implemented by the National Broadcasting Network, the 4^th ASEAN Quiz is a quiz competition on knowledge of ASEAN aimed at educating the youth about the various ASEAN cultural, political, economic and social information. The ASEAN Quiz is a project of the ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information.

The 9 ASEAN Member States that participated in the Quiz were Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. Malaysia was not able to join the 2009 Quiz owing to a conflict with its dates for the national examination for students.

The 4^th ASEAN Quiz kicked off with the arrival of the country delegations on November 29 & 30. NBN prepared a Programme of Activities which included a TV guesting on NBN’s One Morning Cafe, briefing of the participants, tour of cultural sites in Metro Manila and Welcome Dinner on December 1; technical rehearsal on December 2; and Farewell Dinner at the close of the Quiz Proper on December 3.  The Quiz Proper was held on December 3 at the Henry Lee SJ Irwin Theater at the Ateneo de Manila University.  The delegates returned to their home countries on December 4, 2009.

Aimed at testing their knowledge on ASEAN, the 9 Member State teams of three student participants from each participating country competed in the Individual Country Competition which consisted of a sit-down test composed of 60 questions with 20 Multiple Choice (1 point each), 20 True or False (1 point each) and 20 Fill in Blanks (2 points each) in the duration of one hour and with a total correct score of 80 points.

For the Group Competition, the 27 student participants were divided into nine groups with each group comprising three student participants from different ASEAN member states.  The teams were identified according to a specific color of the t-shirts assigned to each team. Aimed at fostering friendship and camaraderie among the ASEAN youth, the group competition had three fun games: Smiley or Grumpy, ASEAN Map and Name It.

The winners for both the Individual Country Competition and Group Competition received trophies and cash prizes.

Individual Country Competition (Total correct score: 80)

1^st Prize Winner – Team PHILIPPINES

Score: 74 points

Team Members:

John Carl Camayang, Cagayan National High School, Region 2

Aries Joseph Hegina, Naga City Science High School, Region 5

Churchill John Tabuada, Labangal National High School, Region 12

Coach:  Ms. Chelo Tangan, Cagayan National High School, Region 2

Prizes: Trophy for each student and cash prize of $1,200 for the Team

2^nd Prize Winner – Team MYANMAR

Score: 64 points

Team Members:

El Kay Khine Htun, Basic Education High School

Zam Bu Kyaw, Basic Education High School

Yasmin Sandi Saint, Basic Education High School

Coach:  Ms. Chaw Chaw Sein, Department of International Relations,

University of Yangon

Prizes: Trophy for each student and cash prize of $1,050 for the Team

3^rd Prize Winner – Team THAILAND

Score:  55 points

Team Members:

Pompipat Kasempsap, Kasetsart University Laboratory School, Center for Education and Development

Kantapon Rattanaprukskul, Chulalongkorn University Demonstration Secondary

School

Jatuporn Uchuwat, Udomsuksa School

Coach:  Ms. Busaba Bushyakanist, Government Public Relations Department

Prizes: Trophy for each student and cash prize of $900 for the Team

Group Games Competition (Total correct score: 20)

1^st Prize Winner – BROWN Team

Team Members:

Singapore:  Goe Meng HuiSt. Joseph’s institution

Thailand: Kantapont Rattanaprukskul, Chulalongkorn University

Demonstration Secondary School

Vietnam:  Diep Hoang Ngoo Nguyen, Hanoi-Amsterdam School for the Gifted

Prizes: Trophy for each student and cash prize of $900 for the Team

2^nd Prize Winner – CREAM Team

Team Members:

Vietnam:  Tien Vu Thuy Tran, Hanoi-Amsterdam School for the Gifted

Brunei Darussalam: Muhammad Adi Aiman bin Haji Rusli, Maktab Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Muhtadee Billah

Cambodia: Vahong Sortheawin, Chea Sim Sarithoy Mor Hrght School St. Kampu

Prizes: Trophy for each student and cash prize of $750 for the Team

3^rd Prize Winner – RED Team

Team Members:

Brunei Darussalam: Muhammad Haziq Siddeq bin Asmad, Maktab Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Muhtadee Billah

Cambodia: Moeng Sokviseth, Toul Tum Poung H.S.

Indonesia: Achlam Said Basalamah, SMA N 1 Depok JL. Nusantara Raya

Prizes: Trophy for each student and cash prize of $600 for the Team

South East Asian countries will compete this December 3, not in athletics but in mental challenges.

Philippines will host the 4^th ASEAN Quiz, sponsored by ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information. Each member country will have three high school representatives, winners in their respective national ASEAN quiz to battle it out for cerebral supremacy in this bi-annual friendly competition.

John Carl Camayang of the Cagayan National High School, Aries Joseph Hegina of Naga City Science High School, and Churchill John Tabuada of Labangal National High School comprised the Philippine team. These students ranked 1^st to 3^rd respectively in the national ASEAN quiz held last September.

National Broadcasting Network (NBN) will conduct the event in Ateneo de Manila University in partnership with the Philippine Information Agency, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Education and the Office of the Press Secretary.

This event aims to foster camaraderie and healthy competition among ASEAN youth and expose them to ASEAN cultural, political, economic and social information.

Watch the telecast of the 4^th ASEAN Quiz on December 13 and 20.

Thanks to the power of the internet, the team was able to do an interview with Churchill John Tabuada, 17 years old, and a native of General Santos City. Churchill is one of the three boy geniuses who will be representing the country on the 4th ASEAN Quiz this December 3, 2009.

Genius as he is, Churchill is still a young adolescent who likes to have his free time.  But as the competition nears, he is burning the midnight oil. .

I was able to know more about Churchill through chatting (again, thank you Internet) and I’m happy I did for I gained a little brother. So here is how the interview goes…

NBNi: What are the names of parents?

Churchill: Saturnino S. Tabuada, an Ilonggo, and Risha L. Lazo, an Ilokana.

NBNi: How many are you in the family?

Churchill: I am the eldest. Next is a Michael, 12 years old, and Irene Grace, 6, then   there’s Mama an Papa.

NBNi : Things that always caught your interest?

Churchill: Novels, books on leadership, governance, psychology, interested in peaceful, rural life, fishing(when I lived once in Agusan), World war II movies, sorcery movies with great logic like Harry Potter, and .forums and debates.

NBNi: Do you play sports?

Churchill: Yes I do.

NBNi: What kind?

Churchill: Both physical and mental sports. Chess is my favourite since grade 2 when I started playing it. I also play basketball and badminton.

NBNi: Other activities? (School-related and others)

Churchill: I’m the editor-in chief of our school paper, and excels most in writing feature and editorial articles. I qualified for the regional schools press conference but will never be able to join the contest this December kasi sabay sa ASEAN Quiz. I also joined an oratorical speaking contest and mapalad na nag second placer. Napili din po ako na maging isa sa mga city junior officials kaso nag coincide sa rigid review namin ng coach ko. So I chose to quit. Sa labas ng school, at sa loob ng church, naging youth preacher din ako. Club president din po ng campus Honor Society Club, Science Club, JEM and officer ng city-wide JEM Council.

NBNi: What do you do on your free time?

Churchill: Usually, nagsusulat ng kahit anong interesting poems, short stories and essays. Sometimes I do song composition (love songs, kinocompile ko pa sa ngayon) and listening to soft music. I like anime. I write my diary also during free time, or just reading anything (my addictive habit kasi kahit lumang material, binabasa)

NBNi: What are you planning to take up on college?

Churchill: Media studies or political science (scopes kasi ito ng mga linya ko)

NBNi: You have mentioned that you like writing. Why?

Churchill: I really believe kasi na kung mahilig kang magbasa, mostly, ma-ho-hook ka rin sa writing… It’s my form of expression kung saan I could at least connect my imaginations to reality. Writing has been my best pal and a real comforter. I condemn people thru writing, make my own rules, and build my own world… Pero it’s my means talaga to keep myself in touch with reality

NBNi: In what subjects you think you excel most? Which is your favourite?

Churchill: I excel in social studies, particularly economics… it’s one of my favourites alongside Physics, Trigonometry and English.

NBNi: You said that sometimes your family are experiencing financial problems, how do you overcome this hindrance?

Churchill: First of course is mind-setting. If I take such problem as a hindrance, psychologically, maaapektuhan ako. I take it as a challenge. Second, my family is very supportive. When trials come, ang bawa’t isa ang aming inspirasyon to stand strong.

NBNi: What do you feel knowing that among a number of contestants in the National Competition, you ranked as the 3^rd placer?

Churchill: I felt so blessed and privileged, and really abundant in self-esteem kasi I sometimes don’t believe in myself until my coach chose me as her contestant.

NBNi: What preparations are you doing to top the finals?

Churchill: We stayed on rigid, one-on-one review with my coach, getting all our inputs from the internet and lots of prayer. Kasi wala naman talaga akong makakamtan unless it’s given by God to me.

NBNi: How do you feel knowing that you are one of the finalists who will be representing the country in the ASEAN quiz?

Churchill: I’m so proud of my little school , kasi kung hindi dahil sa Labangal National High school and my coach, Miss Shiela Balbon, hindi talaga ako makakaabot dito. I’m really thankful to God

NBNi: Who do you think are the people behind your success? Why?

Churchill: First is God, my family, relatives, churchmates, my coach, our teachers, classmates, ung crush ko sa school, mga taga-GenSan ..  .marami pa po (laughs)

NBNi: Given the chance to win the finals, what will you do with the prize money?

Churchill: I’ll use the money to provide me and my siblings with school needs. Give it to my parents for better utilization. And share it with my coach.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Proclamation No. 1495 declaring 2009 as the Philippines-Korea Friendship Year and March 3, 2009 as the Philippines-Korea Friendship Day to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Diplomatic Relations between the Republic of the Philippines and the Republic of Korea.

The embassy of the Republic of Korea hosted several events to celebrate the 60 years of hearty and robust friendship between the two nations. there was the Philippines-Korea Economic Forums (Once in Manila, Once in Seoul), and  the Philippines-Korea Development Forum. The Korean embassy sponsored the Philippines-Korea Friendship Night of the 34th International Bamboo Organ Festival last February 24 at the Las Piñas Church, and hosted Korean Food Festival and Fireworks Display at the Manila Hotel last March 3, and Korean Film Festival from September 23-October 6.

The two naval ships of the Republic of Korea Navy Cruise Training Flotilla, Choi Young and Dai Chung, recently had a four-day goodwill visit to the Philippines.

To culminate the yearlong celebration of the 60th Anniversary, the Embassy will be staging a Korean Cultural Festival from November 25-27 at the Main Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. The festival will feature performances of Korean traditional dances, and drum exhibitions.

Capping off the cultural festival is a KPop Concert at 5 p.m. on Nov. 27. The concert will feature performances by famous Korean pop groups SHINee, Mighty Mouth and Winterplay.

The Philippines is the coordinating country for the 4th ASEAN Quiz which will be held from November 30-December 4, 2009. Designated as the implementing agency is the National Broadcasting Network with the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Education, Office of the Press Secretary, Bureau of Broadcast Services and the Philippine Information Agency as cooperating agencies.
As approved in the Preparatory Meeting, the theme of the 4th ASEAN Quiz Regional Competition is “Towards Building the ASEAN Community-Preserve Green ASEAN”.

The ASEAN Quiz, which started as a project of the ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information in 2002, is a biannual competition on knowledge of ASEAN participated in by students of private and public high schools from the ten ASEAN member states.

It aims to elicit the spirit of healthy competition among the ASEAN youth on the secondary school level in a friendly quiz game that educates the youth about the various ASEAN cultural, political, economic and social information; create awareness among the youth and the general public on ASEAN and its Member States; increase public awareness by involving the media in providing wide media coverage and publicity of the event and by encouraging linkages and the participation of the private sector in the event.

It  will be held from 30 November-04 December 2009 in Quezon City, Philippines. The venue of the Quiz Proper on December 3 will be at the Henry Lee Irwin SJ Theater, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City.

It will be aired on NBN Channel 4 on December 13th and December 20th at 2PM.

Participants

Nine (9) ASEAN member states — Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam and the Philippines will participate in the 4th ASEAN Regional Quiz. Malaysia will not be able to join in this year’s Quiz owing to a conflict with its dates for the national examinations for students.

Each member state will have four delegates – three (3) students and one coach/country coordinator.

The Philippine delegates are John Carl A. Camayan of Cagayan National High School, Aries Joseph Hegina of Naga City Science HIgh School, and Churchill John Tabuada of Labangal National High School, General Santos City.

Delegates are expected to arrive on November 29 and 30, 2009 and depart on December 04, 2009.

Tough questions, a tense atmosphere and a close intellectual battle was the scene at this year’s ASEAN Quiz held in Malaysia. Thirty students from all ten ASEAN Member Countries competed in the contest. One of the winners, the 18 year-old student from Indonesia Miss Ninez Hendrasti, said what she gained from meeting her young counterparts went “beyond the prize”. It had broadened her knowledge about the rich culture of nine different countries of ASEAN.

VOYAGE TO THE FUTURE 2009:

THE PHILIPPINE SEAS

VOYAGE TO THE FUTURE is an international educational project of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), which brings together teenagers from the ABU member countries and territories for the goal of thinking about the future of our global environment.

In this project, select students from the Asia-Pacific Region will visit various locations to learn to appreciate, conserve and rehabilitate the different environments.

HISTORY

The inaugural Voyage in 2005, 23 teenagers from seven Asian countries and regions visited Borneo to learn about the rainforest environment.

Divided into four groups, the students studied different habitats: mangrove wetland, riverside jungle, a mountain village where slash-and-burn agriculture is practiced, and a conservation center for orphaned orangutans.

Later, the four groups reunited to visit the old-growth forest of Danum Valley, where they learned about the importance of environmental conservation by studying the relationship between the forest and its many inhabitants and how the said relationship affects the earth as a whole.

In 2007, Mongolia opened its vast grasslands to 40 children from 9 Asian countries for the 2^nd ABU VOYAGE TO THE FUTURE.

The students experienced the realities nomads face in Mongolia by living with them.  They were able to value little life luxuries like water and electricity as these were rarities in the grasslands. The participants were able to learn about the nomadic way of life and its relationship to the growing desertification in the area.

The study group then moved to a conservation area for wild horses called Takhi. Here the participants were educated on Mongolia’s efforts to save the Takhi horses and their natural habitat.

At the end of their study excursion, the students were able to gain pertinent knowledge about the grassland ecosystem and how they can contribute to conserving the said environment.

VOYAGE GOES TO THE PHILIPPINES

Come March 2009, ABU takes its international educational excursion to the Philippine shores. The theme for the third Voyage is the Ocean Environment.

An archipelago of 7,107 islands, the Pearl of the Orient serves as the perfect backdrop to discuss the various marine problems faced by many countries all over the world.

Twenty-five (25) teenagers from seven (7) participating countries in the Asia-Pacific Region are expected to take part in this momentous event next year. The participants will visit the 3 pre-identified locations in the country – Puerto Galera in Mindoro Oriental, Danajon Double Barrier Reef in northern Bohol and Apo Island in Negros Oriental – in a span of 11 days.

MANILA OCEAN PARK

Voyage to the Future 2009 will get off the wraps on March 21, 2009 at the Manila Ocean Park.

Located behind the historic Rizal Park and just a stone’s throw away from the iconic Manila Hotel, the Manila Ocean Park is the Philippines’ first state-of-the-art oceanarium and open marine habitat.

Softly opened to the public in March this year, the Manila Ocean Park will serve as the preview for the Voyage to the Future participants of what is in store for them in the 11-day journey in the select islands of the Philippines.

Though composed of 8 sections featuring various indigenous marine species in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia, the Ocean Park offers but a tenth of the abundant marine life in the country.

From here, the participants will travel via bus to Batangas where they will then ride a ferry to the first stop of the Voyage in Luzon—Puerto Galera

PUERTO GALERA

Located in the northwestern part of Mindoro, Puerto Galera is one of the many choice tourist destinations in Luzon and in the Philippines.

Here voyage participants will get their first taste of island life in the Philippines.

The powdery white sand and beautiful marine life brought in tourism in this once sleepy locality,

This has seen a huge reduction in the number of fishermen in the area, as they gain higher revenue from tourists.

While the bustling tourism brought in foot traffic, popularity and money, it also brought a great deal of marine pollution, much more the degradation of its coral reef.

After learning about the environmental concerns of a tourist destination like Puerto Galera, participants will go back to Manila to fly to Cebu for the second stop of the Voyage in Visayas—the Danajon Double Barrier Reef in Bohol.

DANAJON DOUBLE BARRIER REEF

Located in the northwest coast of the island of Bohol, Danajon is the only double barrier reef in the Philippines and one of the only six in the world.

The Danajon Bank is a unique double barrier reef composed of numerous but dispersed islets and reef patches joining together into an inner and outer reef.

The islands of Danajon will be the setting of the participants’ adventures in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines.

Danajon comprises of two sets of large coral reefs that formed offshore on a submarine ridge due to a combination of favourable tidal currents and coral growth in the area.

It is believed that with the unique structure and immensity of the reefs, the Danajon Double Barrier Reefs were formed over the last 6,000 years.

Here the participants will be divided into 5 groups to best experience and understand the different environmental problems faced by the people of the different islands in Danajon Banks.

Mahaba Island will serve as the homebase and kick-off point of the Voyage to the Future participants to the other islands.

During their stay in Bohol, the students will get to embark in various activities aimed at getting a deeper understanding of the day-to-day problems encountered by the islandfolk.

Here the effects of overpopulation, increased fishing pressure as well as destructive fishing methods will be discussed.

After this, the participants will go on to the third stop of their voyage—Apo Island.

APO ISLAND

Apo Island is a small volcanic island, 7 kilometers off the southeastern tip of Negros Island. The marine habitat around the island is a marine reserve;

Apo Island is one of the world’s best known community-organized marine sanctuaries, and as such it has been well documented, by the global science community. The project was started in 1982. It is home to over 650 documented species of fish and estimated to have over 400 species of corals

The island is home to nearly 800 people, mainly fisher folks. Since 2002 apo has become a popular dive site and snorkeling destination with tourists.

Here participants will get to see how the island folk have already adapted to making a living via tourism yet still protecting their treasures.

by Margie Flores

March 20, 2009, Manila Hotel – 25 different teenagers from 7 different Asian countries plus the elegant Manila Hotel added with a sumptuous dinner, equals a great feast.

Even before dinner started around 7pm, the participants were seen gathering at the Manila Hotel lobby, willingly introducing themselves to each other, exchanging experiences and asking about each other’s interests, which eventually leads to friendship.

At dinner, while feasting with delicious food and scrumptious dessert, the participants seemed to know each other for quiet a while. Laughing and exchanging jokes like old friends do.

They instantly bonded. And when each were called to introduced themselves in front the whole team, everyone was laughing because they’ve been introduced like a thousand times.

Everyone was so excited with the upcoming activities and we’re already asking which group they will be assigned to. All are eager to know what awaits them in the Philippines.

I took the pleasure of introducing myself to some of them and took their pictures. Below are the ones I’m lucky enough to meet yet.

Click on the thumbnails to enlarge

Voyage to the future is an educational project of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Network (ABU) that aims to promote awareness of our future global environment.

ABU brings together teenagers from Asia-Pacific Region to visit various locations to learn to appreciate, conserve and rehabilitate the different environments.

Voyage to the future 2009 goes to explore the Philippine shores with the theme “Preserving the Ocean Environment”.

25 students from seven participating countries namely, China, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Qatar and Thailand will arrive the country on March 20, 2009, and will stay till March 31, 2009.

The National Broadcasting Network (the only TV station in the Philippines that is a member of ABU) will be hosting the event. Opening ceremonies will be held at the Manila Hotel come Saturday, March 21, 2009 at  9:00 am.

The participants will visit 3 pre-identified locations in the country – Puerto Galera in Mindoro Oriental, Danajon Double Barrier Reef in northern Bohol and Apo Island in Negros Oriental – in a span of 11 days.

Different fun and educational activities awaits the participants.