TO encourage more Filipino youth to take on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) courses, the Department of Science and Technology on Wednesday held the first-ever National Youth Science, Technology, and Innovation Festival at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

DOST Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. said the festival “is a conscious effort to push STEM education and careers to a higher plane.”

“For our country to achieve development, we must harness the potential of science, technology, and innovation,” Solidum said.

Thousands of students from various schools in Metro Manila attended the four-day event.

The DOST chief thanked Sen. Francis Tolentino for supporting the festival by providing the needed resources for the event.

“If we are to survive and thrive in this new world, we need to have a strong STEM community of young highly competent scientists, engineers, researchers and mathematicians that will transform the Philippine economy into a competitive, innovative, and relevant one,” Solidum said.

“Otherwise we will perish amidst the fast rate of technological advancements that is happening across the globe,” he warned.