Innovation stories on a mechanical engineering invention and a sustainable tree-planting method reigned supreme in this year’s Gawad Alunig x Dalumat campaign.
The storytellers behind these narratives were hailed as winners by the Technology Application and Promotion Institute under the Department of Science and Technology.
Creative blocks: A narrative on perseverance
The Gawad Alunig grand champion, Davao’s Creative Blocks, crafted a moving video advertisement on Lumad 6.0, an innovation developed under the University of Mindanao’s Mechanical Engineering program. Creative Blocks’ audiovisual piece, Taghoy, was inspired by the vehicle’s aerodynamic design for fuel efficiency. Their winning entry used the wind as a metaphor for resilience amid adversity, overcoming challenges, and adapting to one’s circumstances.
Natalie Rose Pimentel of Creative Blocks explained that their submission was derived from the Visayan word taghoy, which means calling the wind. She said the team interpreted calling the wind as a sign of perseverance. “When you persevere, you call the wind. Our story revolved around the journey from resisting to finally embracing and calling the wind. It’s also a message to other creators to persist in achieving their goals.”
Composed of multimedia students, Creative Blocks hopes their victory will inspire other students and creatives to join national campaigns like GAxD. “It’s important to keep creating, crafting, and practicing one’s skills. Be an artist with a purpose,” Pimentel said.
Bihasaya: A story of hope and innovation
Meanwhile, the Gawad Dalumat victors, Bihasaya of Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, focused on sustainable tree-planting through the ingenious use of the humble ipil-ipil plant. The team’s winning photo essay, I-POT of Tomorrow, showcased how fallen ipil-ipil sheaths can be fashioned into pots, proving that innovation can also be gentle and environmentally conscious. The entry emphasized that hope can be found everywhere, even amid the world’s growing plastic pollution problem.
The Bihasaya team hails from the Science and Technology Education Center–Senior High School (STEC-SHS) Mantalaan in Davao. STEC-SHS has been a strong contender in the GAxD campaign, with students’ entries reaching the finals for the past three years. However, Bihasaya is the first STEC-SHS team to win the coveted Gawad Dalumat grand champion title.
Bihasaya credits its win to its alma mater, saying STEC-SHS provides an environment that encourages innovation. “We joined the GAxD campaign to promote our school, which focuses on innovation. We come from an institution filled with students who are proud to create new things,” Jannah Pauline B. Jimenez of Bihasaya said.
Jimenez encouraged other students to join campaigns like GAxD to showcase their talent and skills. “Through our win, we hope to inspire others to create more solutions to address issues like plastic pollution,” she added.
GAxD: A nationwide search for champions of innovation
The campaign received nearly 200 video and photo essay entries from 15 regions, underscoring GAxD’s reach as a truly nationwide endeavor. In fact, the majority of the finalists came from Mindanao, highlighting the region’s talent for showcasing Filipino ingenuity.
Gawad Alunig head judge Ken Lerona remarked on how the diversity of entries impressed the panel. “We were impressed by the video and photo essays we deliberated on because we saw that dozens of Filipinos were passionate about giving community innovators a platform to shine,” Lerona said.
The GAxD winning entries demonstrated how Filipinos excel in promoting local innovations. Aside from highlighting Pinoy ingenuity at the national level, the campaign also gives featured innovations a chance to receive support from DOST-TAPI’s ongoing programs.
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