ALL of the six Philippine youth delegates bagged major awards at the recently concluded 2014 Global IT Challenge (GITC) in Busan Exchange Convention, Busan, South Korea, from December 9 to 13, which coincided with the Asean-ROK Commemorative Summit. Nathaniel Edward Q. Dimalanta from the Philippine School for the Deaf (PSD) won the gold in “eLifeMap Challenge,” while Janielle Alonzo Salvador, also from PSD, bagged the bronze medal in “eTool Challenge.”
The Philippines also captured the bronze medal in team category for “eCreative Challenge” that showcased their creativity to do animation using Scratch online program.
The team was composed of Dimalanta and Salvador, together with Jonathan Jumuad Co (deaf) and Rhold Michael Fernandez Jr. (deaf), both studying at the Manila Christian Computer Institute for the Deaf College of Technology (MCCID); Mary Ann Medura Rollon, a graduate of STI College; and Wawel Acabado Quidoles from the Philippine National School for the blind, who are both visually impaired.
Besides medals and certificates, each gold winner received a brand-new 15-inch laptop, while bronze medalists received a digital camera and 1 terabyte external hard drives.
A total of 104 contestants and 80 government personnel and professionals from 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), together with the host Republic of Korea, participated in this year’s event.
Held since 2011, this activity is organized by the Korean Society for the Rehabilitation of persons with disabilities (KSRPD), in partnership with the government of ROK. Its main objective is to solve the digital divide and use ICT as a window to communicate with the world for persons with disabilities, as well as improve their accessibility and quality of life.
This year’s occasion is special because it became part of the Asean summit, which was attended by leaders from all countries at the same venue on December 11 and 12.
First ladies from Thailand and Lao PDR graced the affair together with top officials from UN-Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the host country.
The Philippine team was coached by Remberto I. Esposa Jr. of MCCID, Marietta C. Regala of the Resources for the Blind and Dandy C. Victa of the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) who served as the head of the Philippine delegation.
The Philippine participation to the annual GITC is supported by the Department of Science and Technology-Information and Communications Technology Office Office and the NCDA.