Shark Conservation Week highlights urgent call for shark protection

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A fluvial parade opened the 4th Shark Conservation Week celebration, which will be held from February 27-March 4, 2023, to highlight the calls for clear government policies for shark conservation in the Philippines.


The fluvial parade was organized by Save Sharks Network Philippines (SSNP) and the Philippine Dragon Boat Team to raise awareness of the plight of shark and ray species in the Philippines. The week-long celebration aims to strengthen the conservation of sharks by advocating for the passing of a national legal framework, paving the way to healthier marine ecosystems and encouraging economic stability and sustainable livelihoods.


“As tourism and other economic activities go back to pre-pandemic levels, our oceans and the species that call it home continue to face many threats,” said Anna Oposa, Executive Director and Chief Mermaid, Save Philippine Seas. “We need national legislation that lays out how we can best protect and sustainably manage threats to our sharks and rays.”

The network is calling for the passage of a legal framework that is science-based, enforceable, and socially just, taking into consideration the state of the marine environment and the communities that depend on these ecosystems.


“The Department of Agriculture - Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources supports all initiatives that aim to conserve our sharks and highlight its importance in the conservation of marine biodiversity and sustainable use of these resources for succeeding generations,” said Atty. Demosthenes R. Escoto, DA-BFAR National Director.

Previous Shark Conservation Weeks were held in Cebu City, Cebu in 2014; Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental in 2016; and Panglao and Tagbilaran City, Bohol in 2018. One of the objectives of Shark Conservation Week is to build a constituency among various stakeholders, including line government agencies, legislators, the private sector, youth and academic institutions, fishers, traders, and other sectors such as tourism.

A Shark Summit will be held on March 2 and 3, 2023 to document the progress of shark conservation in the Philippines and identify relevant issues that need to be addressed. The Summit will aim to create a Shark Conservation and Fisheries Management Framework which will be the basis of any policy needs and conservation actions identified.

The following are the activities for Shark Conservation Week:



Monday, February 27

Fluvial Parade and Press Conference

Manila City


Tuesday, February 28

Community Mural Painting

Quezon City


Wednesday, March 1

Shark Science and Anak ng Pating Youth Forum

Philippine Science High School Main Campus


Thursday - Friday, March 2-3

Shark Summit

Agricultural Training Institute, Quezon City


Saturday, March 4

Baby Shark Storytelling Session

Museo Pambata, Manila City


Saturday, March 4

K-Pop for the Sharks

Market! Market!, Taguig City

The Shark Conservation Week is organized by SSNP through Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines, a conservation organization that aims to develop a better appreciation of the marine environment and its ecological processes.

6 Compelling Reasons Why You Need Travel

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Traveling is exciting, inspiring and fun. We are lucky to live in a world where travel is easier and cheaper than ever, and more people are traveling all the time: an estimated 1.18 billion people spend time abroad each year.

While a beach vacation may be just what the doctor got us, studies show that the right trip—immersive, somewhat challenging, and long-stay—can reshape our brains and alter the way we see the world. And it can make us better people.

Here's why.







1. Encourage empathy

Human beings are empathic by nature; the ability to feel the suffering of other people is deeply ingrained in our brains and is the foundation of all healthy relationships. But, like many things in life, it requires constant practice.

Steven Pinker, a professor of psychology at Harvard University, has argued that the expansion of mass media (including journalism and affordable fiction) over the past two centuries has widened the "circle of empathy" because it has made lives distant ones more accessible—and emotionally close—in a whole new way.

Yet while we now have almost instant access to the world through our smartphones, information overload threatens to overwhelm us and make us too distracted to care.

Travel forces us to "escape the isolation of our comfort zone," as Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times put it, and to meet people and experience new situations in the real world, thereby strengthening our ability to empathize with a wider variety of people and in a much more meaningful way.

And empathy is related to travel and discovery in another way: learning a new language and becoming bilingual, particularly at a young age, has been shown to habituate our brains to switching between perspectives and thus , increases our ability to feel empathy.





2. Deepen your understanding of the world

When traveling, the unfamiliar becomes familiar and we rethink the things we assume to be true and the stereotypes that often color our world view.

For me, living in Tanzania and working with street children helped me understand both the Tanzanian work culture (for example, why consensus is essential for decision-making), and the resilience of children who face rejection and violence on a daily basis.

That immersive and sometimes uncomfortable experience deepened my understanding of a culture and a reality that I had only known from a distance and in passing; in some article I idly read on my way to work or some travel story I heard from a friend. Tanzania and African cultures are much closer to me now.

By getting to know and understand other people, whether or not we accept everything they do, we end up interacting with the world in a kinder and less judgmental way.





3. Increase self-knowledge

Being more open with others also helps us to be more open with ourselves. A recent study showed that living abroad—and reflecting on our own values ​​as we encounter different people and situations—makes us more self-aware. Although people living abroad were studied in that research, a long-term trip that is culturally immersive could have the same effects.

A related concept, tied to increased self-awareness and increased exposure to different perspectives, is what psychologists call "cognitive flexibility," or the ability to jump from one idea to another. Travel keeps our minds "flexible" by making us rethink the way we do and see things, and in the process develop the most valuable skill of all: creativity.





4. Increase creativity

In an age of automation and a world of work that will transform beyond recognition in the coming decades, creativity will be the hallmark of those who continue to evolve. It will also be essential for solving complex global problems and for constant innovation in business and science.

Several studies carried out by Adam Galinsky, a professor at Columbia University, have shown that executives who have lived in several foreign countries and, therefore, have been exposed to other cultures and other languages, are more creative and adventurous when tackling your work.

Other studies carried out in the Netherlands and in Singapore have shown that people who travel have an easier time solving problems in unconventional ways. What's more, a 2012 study conducted in Israel showed that people who are more closed-minded towards other cultures performed worse on creativity tests than those who were more open-minded and tolerant.





5. Increase confidence

While it seems that today's age is defined by conflicting views and a lack of tolerance, it is also defined by a certain lack of trust. While the Nordic countries, including Finland, continue to have high levels of trust in political institutions and in other people, including immigrants, in many other parts of the world, such as the United States, trust in others has been declining over the years. Given that confidence is closely related to happiness — Finland ranked first in the 2018 World Happiness Index, while the United States ranked 18th — it's clear that investing in trust is worth it.

Because travel forces us to deal with difficult and uncomfortable situations at all times—situations in which we have to actively engage with and trust strangers, some from very different cultures—it causes us to develop our trust, or what Galinsky has called a " general faith in humanity. All studies, conducted in both the United States and China, have shown this to be the case.





6. They make us more stable

There is one more reason to appreciate travel.

Travel is full of moments that make us more mentally and emotionally stable. Arriving at a new airport and being unable to understand the signs, as well as struggling to get by can be nerve-wracking, just like trying to make yourself understood with a (still basic) language skills with a Parisian taxi driver who doesn't understand you when you you say "Champs-Elysées". But that itself forces us to accept that restlessness and overcome it.

UST's Artistang Artlets makes return

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Following their last production back on October 28, 2022 and November 5, 2022, Artistang Artlets once again steps back into the spotlight and makes their grand return on the big stage with their newest play entitled, “Pabalik, Pahilaga.”

Continuing the seasonal theme of “Tanawan, Tanglawan,” the play tells the story of two individuals: Viv, the cheerful and optimistic one; and Mori, the pessimistic artist type.

Newcomers Kent Jorryn Erasga and France Andrei Cueta and veteran members Maria Cathrina Aquino and Isabelle Laurente will portray these two characters.

As the story unfolds, we get to learn about the history behind the two main leads as they reminisce about the times they once spent together; returning back to the spot where they buried their memories within a time capsule.

“Pabalik, Pahilaga” is a story of loss, hardship, and the process of grieving. That despite all adversities, this is merely just a part of life that we have to learn and accept as we move forward with our lives. A clear example of the quote, “It’s okay to look back, but never go back.”

Headed by Mikaela Francesca Nitro as the director, written by Mildred Anne Jumarang as the scriptwriter, and produced by Aaron Roi Del Rosario as the Production Manager.

The best part? You can watch “Pabalik, Pahilaga” this coming March 8, 2023; 4 pm and 6 pm on the official Artistang Artlets’ YouTube channel. You just need to click here in order to register for the one-time viewing show. AAS42 Major Production “Pabalik, Pahilaga” Registration Form