MANILA – Canada has earmarked 1.9 million Canadian dollars (approximately PHP68 million) to fund a peace education program in the Philippines, the Canadian embassy in Manila announced Thursday.
The project, called “1001 Nights Civic and Peace Education Program”, would provide training and educational support to about 100,000 children and 3,500 teachers in 100 schools across the country.
“Canada is honored to be part of efforts by the Philippines Department of Education, to further promote the teaching of life skills and civic values to grade school Filipino children. This is especially important today as governments and parents around the world seek to address education for the next generation in the middle of a pandemic,” Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines Peter MacArthur said in a statement.
He added that through this project, Canada hopes that the Filipino children will develop an “increased understanding of why diversity, inclusion, tolerance, non-discrimination, and empathy are smart life choices leading to greater harmony and happiness.”
The project would be implemented by Vancouver-based Big Bad Boo Studios, Inc., in partnership with the Department of Education and a Philippine studio in Manila.
1001 Nights, a multi-platform educational entertainment program, would feature cartoons to teach children life skills and civic values, including non-violence, human rights, democracy, gender equality, and the rule of law.
The program is based on the award-winning animated television series called “1001 Nights”, which has aired as commercial entertainment on premier television networks in over 70 countries to a global audience of over 100 million people.
This is Ottawa’s latest official development support to the Philippine government.
Canada previously announced to provide 3 million Canadian dollars in assistance to boost the Philippines’ efforts against coronavirus disease 2019 that includes an in-kind donation of N-95 respirator masks and additional funding for women’s health initiatives to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on women and girls.