The Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) Region VII held its general assembly last September 19, 2020 with the theme “Mission: Dialogue of Faith, Life and Culture, beyond Creed, beyond Borders, beyond COVID”. It shifted this year to a virtual assembly due to the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic. To help in the technical execution, Dr. Jovita Augusto, CEAP R7 treasurer and in-charge of the event, empowered DBTC to help host the event.
The event was hosted via Zoom Webinar with simulcast on CEAP R7’s Facebook page. It was attended by more than 600 virtual participants from the islands of Cebu and Bohol. It helped the participating education institutions to cope and adapt to the COVID19 pandemic which hit the educational industry hard.
The event began with the celebration of the Holy Mass presided by Fr. Wilbert Dianon, SDB, principal of DBTC. Followed by the welcome address of his excellency, Archbishop Jose Palma, DD, of Cebu. Mr. Allan Arellano, executive director of CEAP called in to guide the assembly through updates of the organization.
Fr. Fidel Ma. Orendain, SDB, president and rector of DBTC gave the keynote speech entitled “Catholic Educators Role in developing Faith-driven People in facing Life’s Difficulties”. He spoke of the need for a faith-driven resilience among learners and the attitudes and skills needed by educators to develop this. Fr. Orendain highlighted the relationship between faith and resilience in facing the challenges brought about by the pandemic.
Fr. Dionisio Miranda, SVD, president emeritus of the University of San Carlos, also gave a talk on “Moulting into the New Normal of Basic Education”. Fr. Miranda guided the participants through the legal and educational developments in the Philippines and how institutions can adapt and change. Dr. Junrel P. Zarco gave the last input on “Social Emotional Learning” and spoke of how self awareness and management, and relationship skills can lead both learners and educators to good decision making.
The event was made possible through the technical assistance of the IT and Pastoral Animation teams of DBTC together with the FIS Social Communications Department.
(by: FIS Social Communications)
