by Prof. Sarex Dalida Dipol, Jr.

Various outreach coordinators of colleges, units, and departments attended the University Outreach Meeting Workshop.

The University’s extension arm, Community Engagement and Service Learning Center (CESLC) conducted a workshop –meeting with outreach coordinators’ colleges, units, departments, and selected student organizations last March 6, 2024 (Wednesday).

This meeting-workshop aimed to identify the University’s adopted communities in the next five (5) years. The participants were also oriented to formulating tentative outreach activities for the next academic year.

During the event, CESLC introduced a holistic and institutional outreach scheme to the following adopted communities named PROJECT ERNEST. This is a concrete and organized effort of the University in adopting partner communities. The scheme integrates Education, Resource Utilization, Nurture, Environment, Social Welfare, and Technology Transfer. Further, this approach advocates for poverty alleviation and gender mainstreaming.

Some identified communities that will be recipients of PROJECT ERNEST are Barangay Lanit, Barangay Bitoon, and Barangay San Isidro in Jaro, Iloilo City. Meanwhile, the University’s College of Arts and Sciences, in addition to its college outreach area, made Barangay Culasi, Ajuy, its research site.

The selected communities were based on data retrieved from the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction, Region 6 (DSWD-NHTS-PR).