We at SEARCA celebrate our 55th Anniversary with the theme Sowing Seeds of Innovation for Agricultural Transformation and have lined up a series of events leading up to our milestone on 27 November 2021.
Top 55 Words Describing SEARCA (Click to enlarge)As we commemorate 55 our years of serving Southeast Asia, we thank our current and former partners, alumni, scholars, grantees, officials, and staff for their invaluable contribution to the Center’s efforts to advance agricultural and rural development in the region.
Ever forward-looking, we take our emerald anniversary as the springboard for our 60th year and the next five years as our timeline for stepping out of the box and our comfort zone to embrace the new normal and stepping up to serve in better, bigger, and smarter ways.
Join us in our celebration of past successes and lessons, paying tribute to all the people on whose shoulders we now stand, and our excitement to take bold strides forward to sow seeds of innovation that will help transform agriculture in Southeast Asia.
Anniversary Events
| 22 October | GSID Conversations with the theme Dish Dialogues: Creating a Sustainable and Healthy Plate 10:30 a.m., Zoom and Facebook Live |
| 23 October | Pista ng Pagkain at Kabataang Pinoy (Pistang PagKaPinoy) 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., Zoom and Facebook Live |
| 29 October | IFS-SEARCA Mentorship Program for Advanced Grants Awarding Ceremony and Inception Meeting 2:00 p.m., Zoom and Facebook Live SEARCA Community Pantry 3:00 p.m., SEARCA Quadrangle |
| 5 November | 3rd SEARCArunungan for Young Ones 3:00–5:00 p.m., MS Teams |
| 10 November | InnoTrek: Innovation Journey for SEARCA Staff 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., SEARCA Hub for Agriculture and Rural Innovation for the Next Generation (SHARING) |
| 12 November | Book Launch: "Championing Inclusive and Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development in Southeast Asia" 1:00–3:00 p.m., Zoom and Facebook Live |
| 16 November | Paying for Nature and Society: Dialogue on Innovative Financial Mechanisms to Promote Equity and Sustainability in Agriculture - Asia 3:00 p.m., Zoom and Facebook Live |
| 17 November | ASEAN Conference on Policy and Governance for Climate-Smart Land Use Parallel Session Topic: Engaging Women in Policy Making for Climate-Smart Land Use Session Title: Models of Climate Resilient Strategies for Enhancing Women's Participation in Agricultural Entrepreneurship 4:00–5:00 p.m., MS Teams |
| 22 November | Distribution of Nutritious Food Packs to Los Baños Senior Citizens and Frontliners 1:30 p.m., SEARCA 4th SEARCArunungan for Young Ones 3:00–5:00 p.m., MS Teams |
| 23 November | Nature-based Solutions: Working with nature to help address some of society’s most pressing challenges 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Zoom and Facebook Live |
| 24 November | 37th SOLVE Webinar: SOLVE Leadership Challenges: Redefining Effective Leaders for Tomorrow 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Zoom and Facebook Live Pook Luntian sa Tahanan Ko Hydroponics Kits Distribution to Laguna Youth with Gawad Laguna, Inc. 1:00–5:00 p.m., On-site across Laguna |
| 25 November | Alumni Forum on Transformational Leadership 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Facebook Live |
| 26 November | Virtual Anniversary Celebration 9:00–10:30 a.m., Zoom and Facebook Live Staff Engagement 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., MS Teams Vegetable Planting 2:00–3:00 p.m., SEARCA Backyard Community Pantry 3:00–4:00 p.m., SEARCA Quadrangle |
| 27 November | Pook Luntian sa Tahanan Ko Webinar on Hydroponics Farming with Gawad Laguna, Inc. 9:00–11:30 a.m., Zoom |
GSID Conversations with the theme Dish Dialogues: Creating a Sustainable and Healthy Plate
- 10:30 a.m.
- Zoom and Facebook Live
SEARCA kicked off its 55th-anniversary celebration on 22 October 2021 through Dish Dialogues: Creating a Sustainable and Healthy Plate via its SOLVE platform.
Pista ng Pagkain at Kabataang Pinoy (Pistang PagKaPinoy)
- 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
- Zoom and Facebook Live
Pistang PagKaPinoy is a virtual festival by youth, for YOUth, and with the once youth to bring the spirit of fiesta and serve platters of knowledge to Filipino homes even in the middle of a pandemic when people's mobility is restricted.
IFS-SEARCA Mentorship Program for Advanced Grants: Awarding Ceremony and Inception Meeting
- 2:00 p.m.
- Zoom and Facebook Live
The purpose of the IFS-SEARCA Mentorship Program is to nurture relationships between established scientists and early career researchers (IFS-SEARCA grantees) that are intended to help the latter to strengthen their research processes, ensure that their projects are of high quality, and produce useful results.
SEARCA Community Pantry
- 3:00 p.m.
- SEARCA Quadrangle
SEARCA set up a Community Pantry that benefited agency personnel servicing the Center and staff to offer reprieve during the persisting health crisis.
3rd SEARCArunungan for Young Ones
- 3:00–5:00 p.m.
- MS Teams
#Y4AGRI presents the 3rd SEARCArunungan para sa SEARCAbataan – an internal dialogue by and for the SEARCA Young Ones with the SEARCA Young Once featuring Dr. Maria Cristeta N. Cuaresma, ECLD's Senior Program Head.
InnoTrek: Innovation Journey for SEARCA Staff
- 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
- SEARCA Hub for Agriculture and Rural Innovation for the Next Generation (SHARING)
SEARCA held "INNOTREK: An Innovation Journey" for its staff to have a preview of its own interactive museum called SEARCA Hub for Agriculture and Rural Innovation for the Next Generation (SHARING) and its iCREATE Innovation Café, which complements SHARING with makerspaces and training facility for robotics, prototyping, and design thinking to promote innovation.
Book Launch: "Championing Inclusive and Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development in Southeast Asia"
- 1:00–3:00 p.m
- Zoom and Facebook Live
SEARCA held a virtual launch of the "Championing Inclusive and Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development in Southeast Asia: SEARCA's 10th Five-Year Plan Plus One in Retrospect" monograph, which recounts the Center’s noteworthy gains and invaluable lessons during the implementation of its strategic plan from July 2014 to June 2020.
Paying for Nature and Society: Dialogue on Innovative Financial Mechanisms to Promote Equity and Sustainability in Agriculture - Asia
- 3:00 p.m.
- Zoom and Facebook Live
SEARCA collaborated with the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture Intensification (CoSAI) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN Asia) for a regional discourse. The virtual dialogue is second in a series of regional discussions across the globe to understand how to incentivize farmers to protect and restore nature.
ASEAN Conference on Policy and Governance for Climate-Smart Land Use
- 4:00–5:00 p.m.
- MS Teams
Parallel Session Topic: Engaging Women in Policy Making for Climate-Smart Land Use
Session Title: Models of Climate Resilient Strategies for Enhancing Women's Participation in Agricultural Entrepreneurship
Distribution of Nutritious Food Packs to Los Baños Senior Citizens and Frontliners
- 1:30 p.m.
- SEARCA
In the lead-up to its 55th anniversary on 27 November, today SEARCA marked its 55th anniversary by paying it forward with nutritious food packs for senior citizens and frontliners in Los Baños. Mayor Antonio L. Kalaw received the care packages on behalf of his constituents from representatives of SEARCA and its partners, Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc. and Gardenia Bakeries Philippines, Inc.
4th SEARCArunungan for Young Ones
- 3:00–5:00 p.m
- MS Teams
Two former SEARCA heads shared their inspiring stories and insights on financial management and knowledge management in an organization with SEARCA's young staff during yesterday's "SEARCArunungan para sa SEARCAbataan," an internal dialogue between the Center's young ones and young once.
Nature-based Solutions: Working with nature to help address some of society’s most pressing challenges
- 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
- Zoom and Facebook Live
Experts shared the IUCN Nature-based Solutions™ Global Standard and case studies from all over Asia on how nature helped communities address development challenges.
37th SOLVE Webinar: SOLVE Leadership Challenges: Redefining Effective Leaders for Tomorrow
- 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
- Zoom and Facebook Live
Speakers: Dr. Tin Htut; Dr. Emerlinda Roman; and Dr. Howarth Bouis
Pook Luntian sa Tahanan Ko Hydroponics Kits Distribution to Laguna Youth with Gawad Laguna, Inc.
- 1:00–5:00 p.m.
- On-site across Laguna
Alumni Forum on Transformational Leadership
- 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
- Facebook Live
Today, SEARCA alumni will once again gather in a forum on transformational leadership as part of SEARCA’s celebration of its 55th anniversary. Jointly organized by SEARCA and the Regional SEARCA Alumni Association, the forum will feature SEARCA alumni who have held leadership positions as speakers and moderator.
Virtual Anniversary Celebration
- 9:00–10:30 a.m.
- Zoom and Facebook Live
Reliving the past, celebrating the present, and looking forward to the future of SEARCA, current and former partners, alumni, scholars, grantees, officials and staff gathered together in a virtual culminating program of the Center's 55th Anniversary.
Staff Engagement
- 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
- MS Teams
Vegetable Planting
- 2:00–3:00 p.m.
- SEARCA Backyard
Community Pantry
- 3:00–4:00 p.m.
- SEARCA Quadrangle
Pook Luntian sa Tahanan Ko Webinar on Hydroponics Farming with Gawad Laguna, Inc.
- 9:00–11:30 a.m
- Zoom
Young educators, students, and out-of-school youth from different districts of Laguna province joined the SEARCA-hosted Information and Demonstration Session on Hydroponics.
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