Campus journalists from private and public elementary and secondary schools nationwide are set to gather today for the 2017 National Schools Press Conference conducted by the Department of Education.
Slated from January 22 until 25, this year’s NSPC is hosted by Region 9 with Pagadian City and Zamboanga del Sur as its host schools divisions.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones, in DepEd Memorandum No. 216, Series of 2016, said that the conduct of the NSPC is in line with the department’s efforts to provide a venue for students where they can enhance their skills in different journalistic endeavors and approaches.
This year’s theme, “Strengthening Freedom of Information through Campus Journalism,” aims to “equip and provide students with knowledge, skills, and experience in campus journalism.”
Briones stressed that the conference also aims to “sustain advocacy on social consciousness and environmental awareness, promote responsible journalism and fair and ethical use of social media, and enhance journalistic competence through healthy and friendly competitions.”
Briones said that the NSPC consists of concurrent sessions with workshops and individual and group contests. The individual contests include Editorial Writing, News Writing, Feature Writing, Sports Writing, Editorial Cartooning, Copyreading and Headline Writing, Photojournalism, and Science and Technology Writing. (Ina Hernando Malipot)