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Business Mirror: A new Manila envisioned by students

Photo: Rita Dy, Sylvia Tay, Melissa del Rosario, and Abril Rivera are working together to bring the best Philippine teams of students to a town planning competition in Singapore

MANY foreigners simply see Manila as an entryway to the rest of the Philippines. Upon their arrival at any of the terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, they board a connecting flight that takes them to popular destinations in the Philippines. Manila is simply a transit point from one destination to another. However, the organizers of City Beautiful Manila, Young Mayor Competition, a town planning competition that will be held in Singapore in April 2015, see differently. Rather, they see Manila for what it is: a city rich in cultural heritage that served as the center of life in the Philippines since pre-colonial times.

The Singaporean Activistar Advocacy, a private-sector initiative, hopes to stimulate the minds of students from ages 14 to 20 in visualizing how a particular city should be designed to be sustainable and environment-friendly. Activistar’s CEO Sylvia Tay emphasizes that the future of today’s city lies in the hands of today’s young since they will be assuming important positions in government and industry. Future decisions on how the way people will be living in the future would be in the hands of these students.

This is the fifth year Activistar is holding this town planning competition. In the past years, it has encouraged students to reimagine the cities of Hanoi, Iskandar Johor, and Yangon. Manila was chosen for its vibrancy as a city and its position in the Asian region. The group is now going from school to school, both private and public, announcing the project to students in both high school and collegiate levels. Tay says she hopes to bring at least 10 teams to Singapore for the finals on April 4 and 5, 2015.

The contest has three parts: proposal writing, where teams of 4-6 students will submit a 15-page proposal for prejudging; a multimedia presentation for shortlisted proposals; and 3D model-making. Scores from the three parts will be added to determine the winner. The final two parts of the contest will be held in Singapore. Tay says the competition not only offers students a chance to test their ideas with students from other parts of the world, but it also exposes Manila to the world market as a suitable destination in Asia, one that has numerous attractions that should interest both young and old.

For inquiries about the competition, visit http://assembly.activistar-ads.com 

For inquiries about sponsorship,email sylvia.van.remoortele@activistar.com

Suzette Jessica

PHILIPPINES PREPARATORY WORKSHOP

7 FEBRUARY 2015, 0800 – 1430

Auditorium 2nd Level, The Mind Museum,
J.Y Campos Park, 3rd Avenue, Taguig City.

Metro Manila, Philippines

PROGRAMME OUTLINE

0800 – 0815 : Competition Briefing (15 mins)
                     By Geraldine Sim - Director, Activistar Advocacy

0815 – 0910 : Introduction to Urban Planning in the Philippines and discussion about Traffic Management                                (55 mins)
                     By Prof. Nathaniel Von Einsiedel - Chairman, Principal Urban Planner, CONCEP.

0910 – 1000 : Urban Design: Postcards from the Future (50 mins)
                     By Arch. Felino "Jun" Palaxfox - Palafox Associates

1000 – 1010 : Break (10 mins)

1010 – 1100 : Heritage and Conservation: The case for Manila City (50 mins)
                     By Gemma Cruz Araneta, Chair; Ms Isidra Reyes - Heritage Conservation Society

1100 – 1115 : Q & A

1115 – 1200 : Lunch Break

1200 – 1240 : Environmental Law: What is it and how is it implemented? (40 mins)
                    By Atty. Donna Zapa – Gasgonia - Office of the City of Manila.

1240 – 1320 : The Singapore Story - Modern Metropolis, Bustling City and Future Ready Infrastructure (40 mins)
                    By Daniel Tay - Town Planner, Activistar Pte Ltd Singapore

1320 – 1400 : Sustainable Manila and Future Development (40 mins)
                     By Arch. Dennis Lacuna - Town Planner, Office of the City of Manila.

1400 – 1415 : Q & A

1415 – 1430 : Closing Notes

1430 – 1700 : Visit The Mind Museum at leisure.

Sustainable Urbanization Series in Singapore

Manila in's and out's... physical geography, 
human settlement impact, renewal & urbanisation

Manila Bulletin profiles ASSEMBLY!

Sylvia Tay - Interview with BusinessMirror, Philippines

MANY may think the life of a diplomat’s wife is all parties and cocktails. That is farthest from the truth if you ask Sylvia Tay, wife of Belgian Ambassador Roland van Remoortele. Tay, who is an active supporter of Activistar, a private-sector advocacy group in Singapore. If you ask her what keeps her busy nowadays, she would tell you that she has a full calendar meeting with local officials, governments agencies, schools and private companies in an effort to drum up participation and support for the City Beautiful Manila-Young Mayor Competition to be held in Singapore in April 2015.

The contest is an international township-planning competition that taps high-school and university students to develop plans to improve sustainability within a target city. Activistar has been running the competition for the past four years, and for its fifth year, it trains its attention on the city of Manila. Previous cities that have been the focus of this competition include Hanoi, Iskandar Malaysia and Yangon. Tay says Singapore has been actively campaigning itself as a city with good integrated urban planning.  Tay says the group has identified Manila as its focus for next year’s competition since it is the premier city in the Philippines. “We felt that people should look at Manila and make it a case study and see what can be done to encourage the local government to do something,” she explains. “Every time tourists come to the Philippines, they pass through the Naia [Ninoy Aquino International Airport] on their way to Boracay or Cebu or elsewhere. Everybody gives the city of Manila a miss. Yet, it’s a pity because it is where your origins started. You have Quiapo and Chinatown, which were both centers of commerce in the past. Even in Tondo, they have uncovered ancient relics. Something can still be done to attract tourists to stay in Manila, to improve business and to make it a city that is enjoyable for its residents.”

A number of companies have already signed up to support the effort. Sponsors of the township competition include ABB, AES Philippines, The Mind Museum, and Bases Conversion and Development Authority, as well as the Office of the City Mayor of Manila, the Department of Education and the  Department of Tourism. The CLC in Singapore has supported the effort for the past four years.

For inquiries about sponsorship, e-mail sylvia.van.remoortele@activistar.com.

Joseph Cortes

Image Credits: Alysa Salen

CEO Sylvia as Judge at ULI Philippines " Liveable Cities" Competition

Expert Panel and Judges at ULI Philippines
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