Kiray, Arron, Stephan, and Pash agree -- Pinoys deserve excellent products

What do social media influencers Kiray Celis, Stephan Estopia, and Pash Pacia have in common?

They all have a passion for excellence in whatever they do, the food they eat, the places they go, and the products they wear or use in their everyday lives. No, they’re not discriminating; they just want to be discerning and refined. More importantly, they want to make the smart choice in the products they buy.

Each one desires nothing less than reliable quality, going out of their way to discover excellence, and luckily, they found it in Taiwan.

For actress, host, and influencer Kiray Celis (bit.ly/KirayFB, bit.ly/KirayIG), she loves to travel and use products that can give her the best of what she wants. When it comes to cooking, she discovered the Tatung rice cooker from Taiwan that is best both for cooking rice and steaming her favorite veggies. And just recently, she herself went to Taiwan, one of the countries on her travel bucket list, and experienced the best places in Taiwan that she can only dream of back then (bit.ly/KirayTatungReel).

Just  a  chill  park  day  with  Kiray  at  Liberty  Square

Admired by many, versatile actor Arron Villaflor (bit.ly/ArronFB, bit.ly/ArronIG) needs to be stylishly camera ready at all times. Keen on the latest trends in fashion and modern ingenuity, he appreciates the excellent standard Taiwan has modeled globally. For Arron, style goes the best with practicality, finding the perfect water-proof flash drive by TeamGroup and the reusable Dacian face mask. Arron looks forward to frequenting Taiwan and discovering more of its amazing products.

An avid gamer and certified digital junkie, Taiwan Excellence products such as noise-canceling wireless gaming earphones from ROG, and a gaming mouse from Asus, appeal to influencer Stephan Estopia (bit.ly/Stephan_FB, bit.ly/Stephan_IG). This in-demand gamer and live streamer knows the demands of his passion, which is why he uses only the best digital products and accessories that can withstand intense gameplay (bit.ly/StephanROG_Reel).

On-the-go Stephan is always ready to be in-game anytime anywhere      

Finally, Pash Pacia (bit.ly/PashFB, bit.ly/PashIG) is one who exudes body positivity. Pash is one who inspires many forms of beauty. She has a fondness for gastronomic delights and advocates for sustainable products. That is why she loves O’Right, which she discovered when she went to Taiwan. With O’Right, Pash is not only assured of pearly white teeth, but she also knows mother nature approves of her choice (bit.ly/PashOrightPhoto).

Pash has the power to work and travel in a sophisticated style

Each of these friends loved their discoveries in Taiwan, products recognized by Taiwan Excellence, an initiative of the Bureau of Foreign Trade in Taiwan for products that offer innovative value. Kiray, Arron, Stephan, and Pash hopes these products be made available in the Philippines so Pinoys can experience how these products bring excellence to their everyday life.

If you’re interested to offer Taiwan Excellence brands in the Philippines, you may fill out this form (bit.ly/TaiwanExcellenceBrandDealership).

To learn more about Taiwan Excellence, visit https://www.taiwanexcellence.org/en.

Rex Education’s ‘Bawat Paaralan Edukampyon Continuum’ recognized at UNODC Conference as an exemplary school-community-family program for strengthening drug-abuse prevention

During the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Conference recently, at Novotel Manila, Quezon City, Rex Education bared its ‘Bawat Paaralan Edukampyon (BPE) Continuum’ for strengthening drug-abuse prevention.

UNODC’s Conference gathered organizations, policymakers, and prevention implementers for discussions on addressing drug-related problems in the country. Under the theme “Prevention Digest: Strengthening the prevention strategy and family-based initiatives in the Philippines”, UNODC encouraged individuals and groups to share drug-abuse prevention responses that are health-centered and based on family intervention. The agenda tackled the healthcare system, evidence-based programs, and Philippine experiences in family-centered interventions.

During the 3rd day of the event, REX was among the government and non-government organizations who shared their experiences with prevention programming, as well as the impact and influence of these initiatives.

Taking a whole school approach to reform initiatives

BPE officially launched during the January 2021 Annual Educators' Congress, where 400 private and public schools expressed interest and intent in pilot implementing the framework.

In March 2021, pilot implementation for BPE began with 13 schools completing one implementation cycle. These schools were Marantha Christian Academy, St. Edward School, Canossa Academy Calamba, Ednas School, Cherished Moments School, Colegio de Santa Rita de San Carlos, Inc., Cabulay High School, San Andres Elementary School, Divisoria High School, Rosario National High School, Sagana National High School, Patul National High School, and Sinili Integrated School.

REX gave life to the portmanteau ‘Edukampyon’, a combination of the words edukasyon (education) and kampyon (champion) to mean champions of education. The BPE program is grounded in the Edukampyon advocacy: To engage duty-bearers and build their capacities for respecting, protecting, and fulfilling the right to quality education.

Pursuant to BEDP 2030, REX advocates a whole-school approach that entails the collaboration of all members in a school community. The whole school approach recognizes that the informal curriculum is just as valuable as the formal one, highlighting the importance of providing learners with inclusive and safe environments beyond the classroom. This framework is meant to advance agendas on global education and reform initiatives such as health awareness, eradication of violence, and drug abuse prevention.

The whole school approach also comes into play in promoting the six facets of the Filipino whole learner. REX has identified various indicators that should ensure a Filipino learner is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, challenged, and values-oriented. Across these indicators, there is a common theme that encourages school culture and leadership to promote learners' physical and mental health, implement policies relevant to civic participation, and equip students with the essential competencies for lifelong learning. Families and communities are recognized as a major part of this advocacy, as the success of a child's education largely relies on the effective collaboration of stakeholders advocating for every learner's well-being.

Bawat Paaralan Edukampyon in support of UNODC standards

Based on the standards of UNODC, drug abuse prevention is a significant motivator for children, young adults, and adults to contribute positively in their families, schools, workplaces, and communities. Drug-abuse prevention at the school level focuses on the health and safety of children and youth, in a bid to encourage self-actualization that can lead to the realization of their full potential, prompting them to become productive members of society.

UNODC has found that developing a student's personal and social skills can prevent drug use and alcohol abuse. For children aged 10 and below, programs centered on improving resistance skills and self-control have been shown to reduce general problem behaviors in and out of the classroom. Several other factors can also influence the discouragement of substance abuse, such as students' academic performance, commitment to school, and social opportunities.

To achieve these benchmarks, REX designed BPE as a three-tier implementation framework that will allow schools to conduct systematic assessments of their progress in the UNODC's domains. BPE encourages schools to work with their stakeholders, students, parents, and community members in the planning and implementation of activities and interventions that are relevant to UNODC's standards.

Bawat Paaralan Edukampyon is an exemplary school-community-family program for drug abuse prevention

The BPE's pilot implementation allowed learners to learn about drug abuse prevention through the collaborative efforts of their teachers, administrators, parents, and other stakeholders. In particular, parents reported feeling more engaged and knowledgeable of their children's school activities and priorities after participating in the BPE process.

The participating schools showed significant levels of involvement and support, having developed an appreciation for the BPE framework. REX intends to leverage this support in fine-tuning effective BPE advocacies, communications, and education initiatives for more schools across the nation.

In doing so, REX was able to complement UNODC's standards on drug-use prevention. Placing value in the partnership, emphasizing the importance of effective parenting, and delivering evidence-based prevention strategies proved to be the pillars that drove the success of BPE's initial launch. REX is committed to pushing BPE at a wider scale, in a bid to ensure children and youth become invulnerable and more resilient to drug use.