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In solidarity with education advocates worldwide, E-Net Philippines actively participates in the annual Global Action Week for Education (GAWE), one of the most important events for the education movement worldwide. The GAWE is celebrated for a week every April. It is a global campaign with the primary goal to promote Sustainable Development Goal 4.

As part of our campaign, E-Net Philippines conducts a Film Screening & Talkback on Transformative Education in partnership with PUP Center for Inclusion and Diversity (PUP-CID) under the Gender and Development Office (GADO), co-presented by the Human Rights and People Empowerment Center.

E-Net Philippines believes in the power of film to highlight the challenges within the Philippine education system. In this instance, the film, “A is for Agustin” was shown to Polytechnic University of the Philippines (Official) (PUP) students. It was about Agustin who is living in a remote corner of the Philippine islands. He is an Indigenous man who loves to sing, but never had the opportunity to learn to read or write. When his boss repeatedly cheats him out of his wages, 40-year old Agustin decides to enroll in Grade 1.

After the screening, a talkback session followed allowing students to engage with education advocates and the team behind the film. This interactive segment presents an opportunity for the students to inquire about various aspects of the film, especially concerning education issues presented.

One of the students stressed, “dapat ilapit sa kanila ang kanilang pangangailan” (bring their needs closer to them, make services accessible to them).

Through this dialogue, E-Net believes that empowering them with knowledge, awareness, and a sense of purpose, will translate into a greater sense of urgency and commitment to advocating for meaningful change in the education system.
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FILM TITLE: A is for Agustin (2020)
DIRECTOR: Grace Simbulan
GENRE: Documentary
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 1 hour 14 minutes
RELEASE DATE: August 27, 2021
FILM SYNOPSIS:
Living in a remote corner of the Philippine islands, Agustin is an Indigenous man who loves to sing, but never had the opportunity to learn to read or write. When his boss repeatedly cheats him out of his wages, 40-year old Agustin decides to enroll in Grade 1.

Over the next six years, Agustin becomes increasingly torn between two realities – the children’s world in school, and the increasingly harsh reality of the world outside. As the needs of his family mount, and as food and money become increasingly scarce, Agustin must decide whether to continue his own quest for self-improvement – or pass the opportunity on to his son.
Filmed and told in an immersive style, the film invites the audience to hope and dream with Agustin, and to understand the harsh reality that makes his optimism—and the optimism of many Indigenous peoples — ultimately so fragile.

#TransformativeEducationNOW #EducationForAll #NoOneLeftBehind Global Campaign for Education