by Axell Moza (IB-1) and Nadreen Khudur (IB-1)
On Saturday 18 November, students from GESM were invited to the annual ISM Sustainability Summit. Many students showed interest and a total of 15 students from grades 10, 11 and 12 joined the event.
ISM Sustainability Summit is an event held by a group of students that are part of the Sustainability Council of the International School of Manila. They wanted to teach other students from different schools about the fatality of eco- unfriendliness and the solutions that experts are currently proving to deal with various negative externalities. Expert from ADB, YACAP, IFC, and Mr. Kiko Pangilinan, a well-known Filipino Senator, made important points and factual decision making.
The events we participated in were workshop activities and we learned more about sustainability through different speakers. One of the workshop activities, which we did with the Sustainable Council, was dealing with budgets for different economic aspects such as infrastructure, agriculture, and many more. We also learned about Up-cycling with Ms. Elie Quial, a Visual Artist and Fashion Upcycle, who taught us different ways we can up-cycle our clothes such as painting denim jackets that were donated and different ways we can recycle and produce less waste when doing art. We also did a hand on up-cycling on our own denim jackets. It brought out our creative side.
Two of the speakers that presented their resolution were Atty. Jay Layug (President of the Developers of Renewable Energy for AdvanceMent) and Mr. Bruno Carrasco from the Asian Development Bank. Mr. Bruno Carrasco showed a more statistical environmental damage, showcasing the exponential increase in fossil fuels usage, the production of plastic over the decades, landfills, and the destruction of forest done to the habitat. While for Atty. Jay Layug presented a more personal experience dealing with the increase in electricity prices, renewable energy, and the future changes and plans from the Philippine Government 2030 plan. He presented his solution to the increase in electricity price by promoting solar panels which create renewable energy and lower the cost of electricity.
At the end of the program, we were lucky to meet the Senator Kiko Pangilinan. During his closing speech, he shared his experience on how Filipino farmers gain minimal wage but output the most in the agriculture sector. He talked about world hunger and how sustainability cannot be solved if we do not have food. He also shared the importance of being sustainable and how it affects the world.
It was a fruitful morning and inspired us to re-think our way of living and how to start a meaningful sustainability journey.
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