A: "Tribute" is an occasion for all Filipinos to express their gratitude to the teachers who have touched their lives. It also recognizes the selflessness and courage of the teachers who continue to do their work of filling the minds and shaping the souls of our children despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles and challenges. The event is a one-day affair paying tribute to teachers in general - with special tribute to selected, commonly accepted exemplars in the teaching profession, the honorees for The Many Faces of the Teacher search, as well as lectures, entertainment, and refreshments.
Bato Balani Foundation Inc (BBFI), a non-profit foundation which aims to help improve the quality of education in the country, spearheads the efforts to inspire teachers to strive for excellence by providing them with role models and sources of inspiration.
Q: Why was SMX Convention Center chosen as the venue for this year's "Tribute"?
A: The first three "Tributes" were held in Metro Manila. In 2005, it was held at the Waterfront in Cebu so more teachers from Visayas and Mindanao can take part in the event. In all these locations, an overwhelming number of teachers attend it.
For two years in row (2006-2007), we successfully gathered 14,000 educators under one roof at the Araneta Coliseum. The Big Dome was filled to the rafters with participants coming from as far as Ilocos up north and General Santos down south.
This year's venue, SMX Convention Center, is the country's newest and biggest privately-run exhibition and convention center. It is a world-class venue for international exhibitions, large-scale local trade events, industry conventions and corporate functions. Its close proximity to the international airport, key seaports, first-class hotels and other major commercial and residential districts makes it the ideal venue for the staging of this annual treat for our modern day heroes - our teachers.
Q: How do we intend to make the event as organized and orderly as possible knowing the big number of attendees expected?
A: Once again this year, we sought the expertise of Gigi Bautista & Associates Inc., a management company focused on special events staging and logistics management and consulting. Their company was responsible for the successful staging of Tribute to Teachers at the PICC in 2004, at the Waterfront in 2005, 2007 at the Araneta Coliseum, and last year at the SMX Convention Center
Q: Is BBFI simply using these socially responsible activities to further Diwa's marketing efforts?
A: BBFI, as the non-profit foundation of the Diwa Asia Publishing Group, was created as a response to a successful teacher development program started by Diwa. By allowing the foundation to take over the function of administering and managing the teacher development program, it was freed from commercial motive, and thus, the program flourished. To date, BBFI has trained over 113,051 teachers in just a little over a decade.
Q: Diwa must be very rich to afford this kind of event. People might say you are overpricing your books.
A: We believe that there is no cost too much when it comes to honoring our beloved teachers. We sincerely believe they appreciate this program that brings them more inspiration amidst all the crises and issues in the education circuit. So we put our modest earnings to give back to society, more specifically to the educators of this country, the credit that is due to them. This event would not be possible, too, without the help of our kind and willing sponsors who helped us shoulder the costs of this event.
