DOST Showcases Solutions to UN Sustainable Development Goals in Science Fair

This year’s exhibit of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in celebration of the 2019 National Science and Technology Week will be especially relevant as the country transitions into what has been termed as the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Scheduled to be held on July 17 to 21, 2019 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City, the 2019 NSTW carries the theme “Enabling Technologies for Sustainable Development”, and will showcase how science and technology is addressing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which aim to end global poverty, protect the planet, and ensure peace and prosperity for all.

There will be multiple displays put up by the different DOST agencies highlighting the S & T solutions for each of the 17 SDGs. The Regional Offices (ROs) booth, for example, will showcase three (3) of these goals, namely: No Poverty (SDG 1), Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8), and Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions (SDG 16).

For the No Poverty exhibit, DOST will show how the Community Empowerment through Science and Technology (CEST) program has contributed to poverty alleviation in the countryside. To increase the public’s awareness about the assistance of DOST to MSMEs and communities, success stories of beneficiaries assisted by the different DOST Regional Offices will be presented in dioramas. Majority of those stories will focus on CEST beneficiaries especially the Best CEST Awardees. CEST products will also be on display, such as bags and candles from Barangay Poblacion, Muntinlupa City, a DOST-NCR-assisted community.

The Decent Work and Economic Growth exhibit will focus on making micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) SMARTER – Socially Responsive, Market-Oriented, Agile, Resource-Efficient, Technology-Intensive, Environment Friendly, and Resilient – through the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP) 2.0, with technology demonstrations featuring equipment of SETUP beneficiaries such as CNC laser marking machine, 3D printing machine and form fill seal machine. The concept will show how DOST’s SETUP helps in increasing the capability and productivity of MSMEs and subsequently contribute to the country’s economic growth.

Lastly, the Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions booth will highlight the S&T initiatives in Marawi’s Rehabilitation such as livelihood and innovation system support projects, scholarship, and complementary feeding programs for Maranaos who have been displaced by the Marawi Conflict. These are but a few of the DOST assistance that helped the affected residents to start their lives anew. 

The Regional Offices’ exhibit will also have a Gamezone area featuring interactive activities for kids, an Innovation Lounge to provide a venue for sharing of innovation best practices, training series, and technical consultancies, a Wellness Garden introducing the vertical helophyte technology used in water filtration and a Souvenir Shoppe by OneStore where visitors can buy souvenir items produced by DOST beneficiaries.

NSTW is celebrated every third week of July by virtue of Proclamation No. 169 of 1993, to highlight the significant contributions of science and technology to national development. It has also become a platform for heralding S&T advocacy in the country.

As in previous years, DOST-NCR has taken the lead role in the execution of the ROs exhibit booth.

Admission to the 2019 NSTW is free and the exhibits will be open from 1PM to 6PM on July 17, and 8AM to 6PM on July 18-21. For more details and information about the different exhibits, forums, and activities during the National Science and Technology Week 2019, please log on to nstw.dost.gov.ph.

– By Rozanne Marie Z. Caparas, ICS