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.
