BIGGKAS+

BIGGKAS+ is a university-wide program which aims to address the community development needs of UA&P’s adopted community through school-based interventions that are sustainable, relevant, and needs-based. It is an offshoot of the university-wide project BIGGKAS initiated by the Civics Desk of then Office of Student Affairs, and now Center for Student Affairs (CSA). The project name is an acronym for the seven (7) basic initiative clusters, namely: BASA, ISIP, GAWA, GALING, KATESISMO, ARTE, and SPORTS. Its concept was inspired by a simple, half-day outreach activity initiated back in 2005, in the form of an event designed to help children appreciate reading through story-telling sessions, art workshops, and book lending. From then, it evolved into a full-blown, socio-civic program that aims to kindle the spirit of generosity and volunteerism among UA&P students; in the process, promote values such as charity, magnanimity, and citizenship.

BIGGKAS+ stands on the same foundation and follows the basic design of the original BIGGKAS, thereby having the same acronym that corresponds to the same clusters. The plus (+) is a provision made to cater to a wider range of projects that may not be covered by the existing clusters. Furthermore, the plus also means that the program involves the larger UA&P community, allowing faculty and staff to share their time, talent, and expertise with the partner community.

At present, it is mobilized by a Technical Working Group (TWG) composed of representatives from various schools and units of the University (CSR, CSA, HRM, and OpComs). The Center for Social Responsibility (CSR) is tasked to act as the overall head, coordinator, and convener of the TWG; the Center for Student Affairs (CSA) to liaise with community leaders and coordinate activities at the grassroots level; the OpComs to deploy faculty and students to participate in extension services; and HRM to deploy the administrative personnel needed to assist in the extension services.

This type of initiative flows naturally in the veins of UA&P, as it is a University that has the welfare of society embedded in its credo. Hence, while the heart of the program is to address the community’s needs, UA&P also views this as an opportunity to fulfill its institutional mandate.

A university must be ever attentive and responsive to the real needs of the community that sustains it, seek to significantly contribute to human progress, and do everything it can to uplift the moral, cultural, and material level of the country and the region in which it operates.

Guided by the TWG, each academic unit is encouraged to conceptualize and carry out its own flagship projects. The idea is to create a platform where faculty and staff can perform community extension work for the community through interventions that are in line with their respective line of work or expertise. While projects are handled by schools or units, they are not designed to be exclusive. In other words, everyone in the UA&P community is encouraged to explore ways to contribute and be involved in any of the projects, whether as researchers, instrument developers, resource persons, or as field volunteers. Student organizations are likewise welcome to explore how their activities may be done in collaboration with any of the cluster projects.

Summary of Cluster Projects

B – Basa (Reading)

TWG: SED

Title: Teacher Training Program

Goal: To equip CES primary grade reading teachers with the skills to effectively deliver developmentally appropriate reading instruction to pupils

I – Isip

TWG: SSE & ICT

Title: Computer Tutorials

Goal: To conduct train-the-trainor program with positive evaluation ratings

G – Gawa (Livelihood)

TWG: SMN

Title: Livelihood Training Program

Goal: To conduct Livelihood Training Program in Entrepreneurship and Skills Development Training for Employment

 G – Galing (Leadership)

TWG: SLG

Title: Project Citizen: Citizenship Training Program

Goal: To contribute to a more relevant SK institution by Instilling civic virtues among the youth through trainings on the process of public policy making to various groups in the locale

K – Katesismo (Catechism)

A – Arte (Arts)

TWG: CAS

Title: Cultural Heritage Documentation and Preservation Workshop

Goal: To empower local communities by strengthening their tourism potential through cultural heritage mapping; To identify, document and preserve their tangible and intangible cultural heritage assets

S – Sports

TWG: CAS

Title: Grassroots Sports Program

Goal: To establish a grassroots sports program that is consistent with the community’s capacity by advancing sport as an integral part of the community culture.