Young Professionals Orientation and Training Program

Sustainable development, social housing, and water and sanitation issues tackled in lecture sessions
The lecture sessions of the YP Workshop introduced participants to a comprehensive background on social housing and the different topics that are associated with it, from the broad context of sustainable human settlements development to the discussion of issues that urban poor communities face in their struggle for shelter security. Lecture topics were grouped into three sessions on the first day of the workshop: Design Professionals and Sustainable Human Settlements Development; Tools and Approaches to Social Housing; and Young Professionals and Communities as Collaborative Partners in Building Sustainable Communities.

Dr. Laura David provided a keynote presentation on “Climate, The Environment, and Our Future” while Architect Ning Encarnacion-Tan gave a lecture on “Sustainable Design and Sustainable Communities.” The staff of TAO-Pilipinas served as resource persons for the various topics on social housing, including standards in social housing provision and design; participatory design approaches; and alternative building materials and technologies.

On the second day of lecture sessions, participants were exposed to different levels of discussion about Water and Sanitation (WATSAN), from a global perspective to the implementation of local projects for poor communities. Four sessions on WATSAN were held with various resource persons from government and non-government agencies. Session topics were categorized into: The Water and Sanitation Challenge for Young Professionals; Water Supply Availability, Management and Sustainability; Urban Sanitation Systems; and Water and Sanitation Options for Urban Poor Communities. Among the speakers who gave presentations were: Dr. Maria Antonia Tanchuling of UP-Diliman; Mr. Dave Robbins of Philippine Sanitation Alliance; Engr. Sonabel Anarna of DOH; Ms. Cherubim Ocampo of Maynilad Water Services; Dr. Gulliermo Tabios III of National Hydraulic Research Center; Ms. Lyn Capistrano of the Philippine Center for Water and Sanitation; and Mr. Leo De Castro of the Center for Advanced Philippine Studies.
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Young professionals and students from local and international academic institutions and representatives from urban poor community associations took part in the 2009 Young Professionals Workshop on Social Housing on October 22 to 27, 2009. The workshop is an annual project of TAO-Pilipinas’ YP Program which aims to orient young design professionals and students on social housing through training activities that will enable better appreciation of the concerns/issues affecting the urban poor. This year’s workshop is already the fourth organized by TAO-Pilipinas

The workshop was participated by local delegates from architecture and engineering departments of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP), and the University of the Philippines (UP), as well as foreign delegates from Harvard University, Politecnico de Torino in Italy, and Lund University in Sweden. They were joined by representatives from people’s organizations in communities assisted by TAO-Pilipinas Inc. in Navotas and Quezon City. Community organizers from TAO-Pilipinas’ partner organization, DAMPA (Damayan ng Maralitang Pilipinong Api, Inc.) also participated in the workshop. A total of 26 participants were gathered to undergo 6 days of programmed activities.

The 2009 YP Workshop focused on the theme, “WATSAN in Social Housing: Improving Access to Water Supply and Sanitation for Urban Poor Communities.” The workshop program was divided into two parts spread over six days. The first part of the workshop comprised of lecture sessions which were held on Days 1 to 2 at the Villa Cristina Hotel & Resort in Antipolo City. The lectures were divided into seven sessions with several small group activities conducted in between.
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The following are the guest speakers for the WATSAN Lectures on Day 2

• Cherubim Ocampo from Maynilad Water Services, Inc.
• Guillermo Tabios from National Hydraulic Research Center
• Dave Robbins from Philippine Sanitation Alliance
• Lyn Capistrano from Philippine Center for Water and Sanitation
• Leo De Castro from Center for Advanced Philippine Studies

Congratulations to Verna Lucia Sarraga for winning the Logo Design Contest for the 2009 YP Workshop. Verna’s design will be used in the workshop streamers, shirts and kits. She will also attend the 6-day training program as a sponsored participant.

The deadline for the registration and submission of entries for the Logo Design Contest is extended until August 31.  For further details about the contest, please follow this link. You can register online through submitting our registration form.