THE DEPARTMENT of Education TV bagged the grand prize for Outstanding Thematic Presentation in the recently concluded SIGNIS Asia TV Conference held in South Korea.

Titled ‘Bridging over the Pandemic’,  the entry of DepEd TV was praised for demonstrating that educational content can be informative and entertaining for learners, parents, and teachers at the same time.

“The entire DepEd family is truly proud of the DepEd TV team for their relentless dedication and innovative efforts to support our learners. This award is the latest testament of the hard work they put in pursuit of learning continuity. We will continue to improve this initiative while exploring more platforms that can transform education and make it accessible for all,” Education Secretary Leonor Briones said.

The juries also commended the hard work of DepEd TV Teacher-Broadcasters on and off the camera and recognized their passion, dedication, and resilience amidst the global health crisis.

“Our project was anchored on the mandate from Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones that ‘Education must continue, no matter what.’ The project was buoyed by the spirit of Bayanihan and in the context of Catholic Social Teachings, the call to family and community to show solidarity by participating in the activities,” Education Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del Pascua explained.

During the awarding ceremony, representatives from 11 countries, including the Philippines, shared their experiences and insights on serving Catholic communications on television and online amid the pandemic.

DepEd TV Lead Consultant Paolo Bediones received the award on behalf of the department and presented to the conference a brief history of DepEd TV, the journey of the Teacher Broadcasters, and the lessons produced for the DepEd TV and DepEd Commons platforms.

SIGNIS Asia is one of the regional groupings of SIGNIS, the World Catholic Association for Communication, whose objective is to foster and coordinate communication activities in the regions of South Asia, South East Asia, and East Asia.

The SIGNIS Asia citation is the latest among the recognitions received by the department for its DepEd TV initiative.

Previously, the project was also recognized as Policymaker Edtech Champion Award, and finalist for the Crisis and Conflict Response Award, EdTech Leader in Asia Silver Awardee from EduTech Asia, shortlisted for Dedicated Teacher Awards 2021 by Cambridge University Press, among others.

DepEd TV and DepEd Commons are programs spearheaded by the Information and Communications Technology Service headed by Director Abram Y.C. Abanil, under the Administration Strand led by Pascua and Assistant Secretary Salvador Malana III. It is part of the Public Schools of the Future Framework of the Administration Strand under the leadership of Briones.