MESSAGE OF THE ARAW VALUES AWARDS
OVERALL ORGANIZING CHAIRPERSON

Recently, there is much talk about bringing back Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC) to the students’ learning as the Department of Education reviews the curriculum of the K-12 program. This is a welcome development because while GMRC of course begins at home and should be rooted in the home, children spend extended hours in the school. Schools take over the role of parents during this time. By pushing this move, the DepEd will show that numeracy and literacy skills are not the only important aspects of education.

While GMRC is key in our children’s education, the bedrock of proper behavior is something deeper and more significant than manners - their values. It is even more important to instill positive values in our children so that programs like the GMRC can be kept alive in their daily lives.

The importance of values is well captured by the famous author and inventor Edward de Bono when he said that "Effectiveness without value is a tool without a purpose."

Over more than two decades, the Ad Foundation has probably been the staunchest champion of positive values in our advertising industry.

The Ad Foundation consistently espouses seven (7) Filipino cornerstone values that are based on socio-anthropological studies. These 7 cornerstone values, involving truth, rights, family, country, faith, discipline and environment, are principles that are consistent, universal and transcultural. They build character that leads to behavior that should positively impact the individual , the community and, eventually, our nation. They are timeless and borderless.

These cornerstone values drive our culture and create a compass that help navigate our decisions as individuals and collectively as a people.

The Ad Foundation believes that our advertising industry can positively influence value formation among Filipinos through the Araw Values Awards and that we can help in the cultural transformation of our nation through our industry’s talents and skills. The Araw Values Award is probably the only one of its kind in the region, if not the world.

On its 11th season, Araw Values Awards will once again recognize outstanding brand-building and communication materials across all platforms – TV, radio, print, outdoor, cinema and digital- so that we may inspire businesses to continue developing value-oriented communications and to inspire others to likewise do the same.

For the first time and in collaboration with a select group of highly respected industry leaders who excel in the technical fields, we are proud to announce that the Araw Values Awards will recognize value-oriented advertising materials produced with technical excellence in the areas of production design, photography, cinematography, sound, editing and restoration.

As our industry moves faster and forward, we are also evolving the look of the competition - younger, more progressive - with the continuous emergence of a new generation of practitioners.

Allow me to say that it is an honor and privilege to serve once more as the Chairperson of Organizational Committee. Let me thank the Ad Foundation for trusting me with the responsibility of leading a team of talented men and women who believe in their hearts that Filipino values bring energy, creativity , enthusiasm and commitment to the soul of our nation.

We now formally open the 11th Araw Values Awards. Pasikatin natin yan. Let Filipino values shine – and shine the brightest.