St. Scholastica’s College fetes outstanding women in media

For their outstanding contributions in the field of media and communication, peace journalist Carolyn Arguillas and puppetry pioneer Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio were this year’s lifetime achievement awardees in St. Scholastica’s College-Manila’s (SSC) Hildegarde Awards.

In a simple yet solemn ceremony over the weekend, SSC’s Department of Mass Communication (DMC) conferred Arguillas and Lapeña-Bonifacio its highest award, named in honor of St. Hildegarde of Bingen, a Benedictine nun who lived in the 12th century but was considered way ahead of her time given her various roles and skills.

Now in its fifth year, the Hildegarde Awards has previously honored other outstanding women in media and communication such as actress and social worker Rosa Rosal, movie director Marilou Diaz-Abaya, broadcast journalist Tina Monzon-Palma, and writer-activist Susan Fernandez.

This year, SSC honored Mindanao-based Arguillas for her years of reportage that sought to shatter mainstream media’s portrayal of Mindanao as one filled with violence and chaos, and instead wrote stories of armed conflict and internal displacement always in the context of development and people empowerment.

“Irresponsible journalism kills and displaces people; hysterical reportage does not stop the war," said Arguillas, chair and founder of the Mindanao News and Information Cooperative Center (MNICC), during the ceremony.

MNICC publishes Mindanews, a news website containing stories on human rights, the peace process, and armed conflict in Mindanao.

Recently, it launched Mindanews’ monthly print version, Our Mindanao.

Outstanding work in children's lit

On the other hand, Palanca-award winning Lapeña-Bonifacio, known as the “Grand Dame of the Southeast Asian Children’s Theater, was awarded for her pioneering works children’s literature, particularly puppet theatre.

Lapeña-Bonifacio founded the Teatrong Mulat ng Pilipinas, the University of the Philippines’ official puppetry troupe and theatre group for children.

In the last 34 years, Teatrong Mulat has represented the country in international puppetry workshops and conferences, and has performed in international theatre festivals.

“They say you have to have talent… for painting, design, and designing clothes. That is true, you have to have talents for all those things but I think the biggest thing is work, hard work," Lapeña-Bonifacio told SSC.

For the first time, the Hildegarde Awards also gave out Special Citations to 12 individuals, organizations, advertising agencies, and television and radio programs.

Among the recipients of the Special Citation was GMA Vice President for News Jessica Soho for her weekly news magazine show “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho".

The other recipients of the Special Citation were:
Advertising:

Nescafe’s "Para Kanino ka Bumabangon"

Lucky Me’s "Mahalaga na Kumpleto sa Kainan ang Pamilya"

Milo’s “Annie"

Broadcast Journalism:

Jessica Soho for "Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho"

Dyan Castillejo's field reports on Manny Pacquiao

Tv5's "Ako Mismo"

Development Communication:

Gabriela’s Project Runaway

Tulakabataan's Vote for Kids campaign

Kim Atienza's "Matanglawin"

Print Journalism:

Anne Marxe Umil's articles on women’s issues, Bulatlat.com

Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism's "Cash Overload, Media Overdrive: The Press and the May 2010 Elections"

Isis International's Women in Action
"We hope that through these awards, our honorees will continue to serve as an inspiration to our dear students; that the achievements and works of our esteemed awardees will provide the benchmark for our youth of today, our future Hildegardes," said DMC chairperson Atty. Charlton Jules Romero.

source: gma