With over 391,000 people reached on Facebook since January, the 23rd Isabela Socio-Cultural Awareness Week (ISAW) is the most-viewed series of contests for elementary and high school students in Isabela this academic year.
The 23rd ISAW Facebook page also recorded about 298,000 engagements and 68,300 total livestream views, thanks to the overwhelming support from its record-breaking 65 participating schools.
“The 22nd ISAW was a huge success. Despite the shorter promotion period we had this year, we were still able to surpass last year’s numbers. It is an exciting thing to see ISAW getting bigger and better every year,” said Hana Kaye Lopez, the 23rd ISAW Records Head.
Organized by the UP Kalipunan ng mga Anak ng Isabela (UP KAISA), ISAW is an annual event that selects the representatives of Isabela in Essay Writing, Pagsulat ng Sanaysay, Poster Making, Extemporaneous Speaking, Dagliang Talumpati, Short Film Making, Quiz Show, and Debate to be sent to the Patalasanlahi, a national event held by the UP Sanlahi Alliance.
This year, ISAW centred on the theme “Anaraar: Pagbibigay-liwanag sa Papel ng mga Kabataan sa Pagtamo ng Pagbabago at ng Progresibong Kinabukasan” to focus on youth involvement in pressing issues, such as the upcoming national elections and the unceasing attack on institutions of truth. ABS-CBN reporter Jervis Manahan and Center for International Law Philippines fellow Ross Tugade delivered talks on the theme via the ISAWebinar on January 29.
On February 4 to 6, Isabeleños tuned in to the event’s Quiz Show Finals, Debate Semis and Grand Finals, Gabi ng Kultura, Short Film Viewing, and Sandali ng Parangal via Facebook livestream. Prior to the 23rd ISAW proper, the contestants joined a series of workshops: Poster Making with multi-awarded artist Jenric Shane dela Cruz, Public Speaking with international speaker Sandro Silverio, and Asian Parliamentary Debating with UP Debate Society member Crissa Muyalde on January 25 and 28.
“The live streams were my favorite aspect of ISAW because it was able to share some of the most entertaining and thought-inducing events like the Debate Competition. It was able to keep the excitement of ISAW continuous and connected despite the distance between all participants,” shared one of the contestants.
The 23rd ISAW is co-presented by Globe Telecom, Pascual Consumer Healthcare Corp, Now You Know, and SubSelfie, with organization partner UP Debate Society, PR partner PAGEONE.ph, media partners Inquirer.net, InqPop, WhenInManila.com, and Edge TV PH, and sponsors Katerina’s Homemade Goodies and Isabela’s Tutorial and Review Center.
ISAW is the first of three flagship events of UP KAISA this year. This June and July, UP KAISA will once again provide free review classes for incoming college students via the annual Provincial College Admission Review (PROCARE) and will donate school supplies to remote schools in Isabela via Handog Kay Ading 2022.
About the Organization: The UP Kalipunan ng mga Anak ng Isabela (UP KAISA), is a 26-year-old non-profit, non-partisan, socio-cultural student organization duly recognized and based in the University of the Philippines Diliman. It is composed of Isabeleño students studying in UP units, mainly in Diliman.
