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TEXT2TEACH LAUNCHED IN 3 SITES

July 2003 was a month for celebration in the Text2Teach calendar. It was during this month that the project was formally launched in its three implementing schools divisions: Quezon City, Batangas and Cotabato City.

The Division of Quezon City was the first to hold its community launch on July 14th, and its venue was our very own Pearl Hall here at INNOTECH. The Quezon City Division staff—working hand in hand with INNOTECH’s own staff—undertook preparations for the programme. Mediamaster demonstration units and a satellite dish were installed, and the green dots on the television screen that signified that the presence of a signal from the satellite was also symbolic in the sense that the text2teach project had in fact begun and was now no longer theory but reality. Among the many special guests during the launch were the Honorable Feliciano Belmonte, Mayor of Quezon City; Fe Hidalgo, Undersecretary of the Department of Education, Corazon D. Santiago, Regional Director for NCR, Victoria Garchitorena, Chairperson of Ayala Corporation. Also present were the representatives from Nokia, UNDP, Globe Telecom, Chikka Asia Dream Broadcasting, as well as a large contingent of teachers and school heads from the text2teach schools in Batangas.

The next community launch was held in Cotabato City on July 23, 2003, and was backed by the full support of the Mayor of Cotabato City, Hon. Muslimin G. Sema, the Cotabato City Division staff and the school heads, teachers and students of the participating schools. With over nine hundred guests in attendance, including representatives from the Global Support Team and the Philippine project partners, the launch was clearly the biggest of the three in terms of attendees. It was also an afternoon where the text2teach teachers showed their creativity and talent with a song number. The song was an original composition whose lyrics spoke of the hope that the Text2Teach project represented.

The last community launch was held in Batangas on July 28, 2003, at the auditorium of Sto. Tomas Central School in Sto. Tomas, Batangas. In attendance was the Governor of Batangas, Hon. Hermiland L. Mandanas, who gave the opening message, and Dr. George Garma, Regional Director for the Batangas Schools Division. Also in attendance were representatives of the different project partners, as well as the division staff and the school heads, teachers and students from the participating Text2Teach schools all over Batangas. Like the Quezon City and the Cotabato City community launches, the Batangas launch was rich with cultural presentations and well-rehearsed teacher demonstrations. The highlight of the launch was the symbolic unveiling of the Mediamaster and the television, as well as the turnover of a Text2Teach mobile phone to Dr. Garma by Ms. Victoria Garchitorena.

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