Social protection in modern society varies from one country to another. While the ultimate goal of protecting the poor from vulnerabilities, shocks and risks is shared, the approaches to implementing social protection are not exactly standard. As the World Bank argues, implementing social protection instruments — from social insurance, social assistance to labor market interventions…
Non-profit organizations have played a key role in social development. They hold great influence in mobilizing people, facilitating and initiating policy reforms, and effecting change on both levels of community and government. For countries such as the United States, non-profit organizations can even have a bearing on foreign policy behaviors (Kim, 2011). If media is…
Hong Kong is one Four Asian Tigers. Its economy is among the world’s strongest and its market, ranked the world’s freest. With no debt, its foreign reserves run around US$370 billion, making it undeniably one of the region’s most robust. But this rosy picture of economic growth does not provide a fuller perspective of Hong…
When a student finds himself in a new environment, oftentimes the struggle is to adjust. To adjust to the people who may be perceived as individuals who do not share the same culture and general appreciation of life with you. So you locate that corner in a large room where you can fully be yourself,…
Aging in Perspective Issues on aging revolve around the concepts of family, financial security, and institutional support. They stare us in the face from the inability to increase and sustain public transfer of resources from what the Asian Development Bank (ADB) terms as “surplus working ages” to the “age deficits”, which include the elderly (Park…
A major education reform in Hong Kong finally saw its implementation in September 2000, after a series of deliberations and public consultations between and among key stakeholders spanning 10 years. The reform overhauls the system from pre-primary education to university. It is officially known as the New Senior Secondary Curriculum (NSSC), but it is popularly…
How to play world politics? Let’s analyze. Learn from Duterte. Duterte is clever. If not for what he has done for the city of Davao, he knew his foul language and unorthodox style of diplomacy would bring him world popularity. So he strategically positioned himself well, influencing public perception to put him in the same…
When you hate figures as a mass communication student, many say it’s not only normal. Some joke it’s expected. So if to follow logic, no mass communication graduate should run a business. But running a business is not merely about math. It’s also about the people you work and share a vision with. Thankfully, I…
(Blog contribution to the World Bank. Click to access original site: World Bank EAP Blogs) Scroll through social media in the Philippines, and you’ll get the feel of how young people have transformed digital spaces into a microcosm of what the Philippines should or should not be. If only their ideas and fervor in cyberspace could…
When I was still a part-time lecturer at the Speech Department in Silliman University, I would often tell my students: “When I ask you a question and you don’t look at me – I’ll call you. When I ask you a question and you look at me intently, with a warm smile and a sparkle…
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