THE Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (Idis), Inc. announced during the ISpeak media forum, on Thursday morning, May 30, 2024, at the City Mayor's Office, that they will open the Luntiang Pluma for school publications.
Adrian Claudio Dela Cruz, Idis' digital campaigner, said they opened the Luntiang Pluma for school publications because they want the younger generation to be aware of the environmental issues in Davao City.
“We are expecting that all student publications, universities, colleges, high schools or even elementary will join in this year Luntiang Pluma 2024,” he said during the ISpeak media forum, on Thursday morning, May 30, 2024, at the City Mayor's Office (CMO).
Dela Cruz said that as much as they want to accommodate schools from neighboring cities, they will only cater to school publications within Davao City.
The deadline for submissions for Luntiang Pluma is July 31, 2024. Ten stories will be awarded to journalists and five to student publications. Winners will receive a cash prize and trophy.
To qualify for the award, the journalist or student journalist must be Davao City-based and a traditional or digital writer who resides, works, or studies in the city. Their environmental articles must have been written from 2022 to 2024, both online and in print.
The articles may expose, oppose, propose, advocate, or affirm environmental realities and report on destructive and corrective actions within Davao City. The thematic areas include water, air, waste, energy, climate action, watershed and forest management, land use and urban livability, and environmental rights.
Dela Cruz said that each journalist can submit up to three articles, and the previous winners of the awards will no longer be eligible to participate in this year's Luntiang Pluma.
The Luntiang Pluma Award recognizes stories or write-ups that expose, criticize, suggest, advocate, and verify environmental realities in Davao City and report on destructive and remedial efforts. Previous winners include SunStar Davao, Mindanews, Davao Daily Scoop, and Davao Today.
Apart from the Luntiang Pluma, Idis also announced the annual event in partnership with the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro), City Agriculturist's Office (Cagro), Davao City Water District (DCWD), Davao Association of Catholic Schools Inc. (DACS), and SM City Davao organize this year’s Lunhaw Awards on September 18 to 20, 2024.
Yvette Balayon-Mahinay, Knowledge Management Officer of Idis, said they will also have a Lunhaw Expo this year. She said the expo would highlight the more or less 100 previous Lunhaw awardees in the city.
“We will be highlighting them, we will have an expo to know the status of their initiatives and to also invite Dabawenyos to replicate their initiatives,” she said.
The Lunhaw Awards is an annual event that recognizes green initiatives that could be replicated in the city's communities. Some of the previous winners include Los Amigos, Maningo Perocho Farm, Mahayag National High School, and Josefa Llanes Escoda Elementary School for their excellence in education and advocacy. CIO