Why Not?
Envision: Filipinos breaking the barriers of indifference and apathy, and coming together to share thoughts, to inspire and weave breakthrough ideas, and to realize dreams. Create: A venue where great Filipino thinkers and doers can brainstorm and take collaborative action for a better Philippines. Dare to ask: Why not?
Inspired by TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Talks, the WhyNot? Forum was created by a group of young creative minds which aims to spark a thought revolution that will make Filipinos “think new thoughts, share big dreams, do brave things.” Founders Mark Ruiz and Paolo Benigno Aquino envision the WhyNot Forum to be “a smorgasboard of great, brave ideas, an open-source innovation soup that will hopefully inspire other Filipinos to connect adjunct thoughts, take significant action, and weave together new breakthrough ideas.”
Serving as the country’s “megaphone” which will showcase Filipinos’ ingenuity, the WhyNot? Forum gathers Filipino speakers from various industries, including media, advertising, the academe, film, fashion, among others, to share their “Why Not?” ideas to the country and to the rest of the world through the World Wide Web.
The first WhyNot? Forum, held on September 27, 2007, showcased the expertise of nine speakers: WhyNot? Forum co-founder Mark Ruiz, alternative educator Gang Badoy, “Dreamer Priest” Fr. Ted Gonzalez, “Marketing Maverick” Dindo Gomez, Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART) Public Affairs Group Head Ramon Isberto, designer Brian Tenorio, technologist Greg Tangonan, entrepreneurship guru Prof. Jay Bernando, and filmmaker Quark Henares. The speakers were given fifteen (15) minutes each to discuss their topics. All talks from the WhyNot? Forum are posted on the WhyNot? Forum website for all the world to view and share --- for free.
Ramon Isberto, head of SMART Public Affairs Group, presented SMART’s disaster preparedness initiatives and asked, “If we are ‘world-class’ in disasters, why not be ‘world-class’ in disaster-preparedness?” Isberto discussed the Project Rain Gauge, ajoint project of the Smart Schools Program and the Klima Climate Change Center of the Manila Observatory, in cooperation with the Ateneo de Manila University, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) and the Department of Education (DepEd), which aims to create a network of ground stations across the country via Smart Schools to provide supplementary data on local rainfall measurement in specific areas.
The WhyNot? Forum, sponsored by SMART, web and multimedia company Softrigger Interactive, and the Young Public Servants, promises to be the start of a long-running series of inspiring and thought-provoking talks which, hopefully, will stimulate Filipinos to think and ask, search for answers, and step up to the challenge of the question “Why not?”
To know more about the WhyNot? Forum and to view the WhyNot? Talks, visit the WhyNot? Forum website at http://whynotforum.com/.
(Published 07 January 2008, Smart Schools Program)
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