Coming together to build urban resilience through our children

"This week the Congressional Commission on Science, Technology and Engineering (COMSTE), which I chair, put together a conference entitled “Engineering Resilience: Beyond Climate Change Adaptation”. It was attended by national government officials, scientists, urban planners, members of the diplomatic corps, local government units, and the academe.

Resilience, by definition, is the ability to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions. We cannot spring back from disaster by applying orthodox, archaic ways. Resilience requires us to adopt new thinking, new design and methodology."

Now although senator Angara is discussing Engineering design here, there are many ideas that he expresses that transcend engineering.

"Today’s challenges require design thinkers, good builders and architects. Good design and good thinking can transform the world by inspiring innovation.

The best designers match necessity to utility, barriers to possibility, and need to demand. They can see constraints and turn them into potentials, they can do more with less, and they can look at ordinary things and turn them extraordinary."

I am a teacher and I feel that everything that Angara states above can be applied to the field of education and curriculum design. I truly believe that if more educators viewed their responsibility as key architects in designing models of resilience, we can transform the education system as it stands and ensure that our children learn the right skills and become effective designers for the future that lies ahead.

Our children have all of the answers. We just need to enable, empower and provide the right opportunities for them to act and be leaders of change.

Yesterday, we spread this message. My friend and I gathered together a group of like-minded learners and innovators to discuss how we can empower our children, in a Manila context. My friend is a grade 1 teacher and has facilitated amazing understandings with her amazing ants through building a community garden. They have come to the conclusion that 'We are all one". Yes we are. This is a key understanding to strengthening urban resilience.

We shared stories of our community garden at school, discussed the need to model interconnectedness and the importance of student ownership over their learning.

Our children have the solutions. They understand how we can strengthen our communities and collaborate to solve problems such as food shortages, water scarcity and poverty. Us adults just need to listen to them more, recognize them as key to the sustainability of our environment and humanity and provide opportunities for them to be empowered.

The energy at our meeting in Manila yesterday was wonderful: there were educators, 6 year olds, parents, 18 year olds, psychologists, environmentalists, corporate people-- all talking. All sharing this vision. All saying, "Yes, we can".

Our Vision

Empowering children to be and lead the change needed to restore the balance in the world through planting seeds of love that nurture self, community and the world.

In the forthcoming months we hope to use kiran Bir Sethi's Design for Change contest as a launch pad for engaging more children and more schools with this message. A concrete step towards sustained empowerment of children in the future.

http://designforchangecontest.com/index.aspx?Country=11

See the update on the right hand side, "DFC goes to Manila!" That's us. The seed has been planted.