Sec. Joel as Gawad Kalinga Social Business Summit Keynote Speaker; and Hosts for TESDA and GK SEED Launching

Education transforms concrete lives: this was the heart of Secretary Joel Villanueva’s speech at the Gawad Kalinga’s Social Business Summit 2014 in the famous Enchanted Farm. Sec Joel was one of the keynote speakers of the summit’s afternoon session along with Sen. Pia Cayateno, and CHED Chairperson Patricia Licuanan.

“Our experience with GK, with the countless hours of meetings we spent together, and even in attending fora, gave us an important insight: our training programs should be developed with the youth, rather than for the youth.

“I believe the power of youth, when channeled to productive activities, can change the world. What can we do to help them make the difference? It’s simple: Let’s engage them.”

Sec Joel also served as served as one of the hosts during the launch of the groundbreaking educational project of Gawad Kalinga, the School for Experiential and Entrepreneurial Development or SEED.

With the launch SEED, training programs will be made available to the young people that will make them partners in the development of their communities. The program will run for two years with a curriculum developed by TESDA and Gawad Kalinga.

“This project inculcated in our hearts and minds a new way of doing things at TESDA. It served as an impetus for us to reflect and ask ourselves again: How can we provide enough elbowroom to personalize our training programs, to put young people in an environment where they can tap their hidden potentials, and to create conditions under which innovation and creativity will begin to flourish?”

“Sa TESDA, may choice ka.” – SECRETARY JOEL VILLANUEVA