Students from the International Relations and Foreign Service (IRFS) track have gathered inside the American Corner of the Bonk Library of the University of San Carlos- Downtown Campus to celebrate the International Day of Democracy. It was in lieu of the actual celebration held on the 15th of September. Students flocked into the American Corner to spectate the simple celebration and relish in the experience.

 

The International Day of Democracy is a celebration of years of democratization and the success democracies have been in the international world by promoting the supremacy of the written law and the sanctity of human rights and dignity. The main theme for this year was: “Space for Civil Society”.

 

It was a simple event that brought in a small but good number of IRFS students, who wished to learn further about the importance of democracies in the international system. There was a viewing of documentary videos about the United Nations (UN) event and democracy in general.

 

The main highlight of the event, however, was the essay writing contest centered around the theme of the event. It was a contest per team and the track was already divided among the Hegemons, Optimizers, Superpowers and Titans. From each would be taken two representatives but as it turned out, two came from Hegemons, one from Superpower and one from Titans. Representing the Hegemons were 3rd Year student Horeb Felix Villa and 2nd Year student Hazel Claire Bagonoc. Troy Leonardo III stood for Superpower and Mar Louie Vincent Reyes for Titans.

 

All four contestants were given about an hour to finish their piece, which was limited to 800 words. A laptop was used by each contestant, with Villa and Bagonoc working on separate units. After more than an hour had passed, as each contestant started at different points in time, the essays, which were in Microsoft Word (MS Word) format, were sent to the judges for deliberation. Once that was done, the results were announced.

 

Titans won first place in the essay writing contest. It was represented by Mar Louie Vincent Reyes and he received a certificate on the IRFS Closing Ceremonies. For the Titans, it was a great achievement and was celebrated.

 

The entire event ended by twelve noon and the students went on their way. While many have complained that only a few of them were present, nonetheless it was a valuable educational experience for the IRFS students to enjoy.