Gwendolyne Fourniol
MAMAYANG gabi na magaganap ang grand coronation ng 71st Miss World pageant sa Jio World Convention Centre sa Mumbai, India.
Siyempre, abangers na ang sambayanang Filipino sa pagrampa ng ating pambato na si Gwendolyne “Gwen” Fourniol na handang-handa nang lumaban para sa second Miss World title ng Pilipinas.
In fairness, maraming pageant fans naman ang naniniwala na malakas ang laban ni Gwendolyne dahil bukod sa beauty and brains na ang dalaga, pak na pak din ang kanyang confidence at winning aura!
Maganda rin ang naging performance ng Pinay beauty queen sa tatlong Miss World Challenge events – yan ay sa Sports Challenge, Talent Challenge at sa Head-to-Head Challenge (isa sa most significant event sa pageant).
Sa naturang challenge, ibabandera ng nga candidate ang kanilang cause at advocacy. Ang kay Gwen at ang kanyang laban para sa quality at patas na edukasyon.
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“These words resonate with the timeless significance of education, as not just a privilege, but a human right.
“Now, today I speak before you to advocate for the Sustainable Development Goal No. 4, which is to ensure inclusive and equitable education for all and promote lifelong, lifetime opportunities,” ang pahayag ng dalaga.
Patuloy pa niya, “Growing up, I personally experienced how my mother’s journey was exceptionally the transformative power of access to education.
“Through the access of learning tools, which was all thanks to URDA Foundation, stands for Educational Research Development Assistance.
“They provided her with an opportunity and this enabled her to finish her academic degree and also enabled her to uplift our family out of poverty.
“This is what education is all about. It is to destroy the cycle of poverty and to open doors to opportunities, to a brighter future for individuals and communities,” paliwanag pa ng bet ng Pilipinas.
“Now, numbers do not lie. UNESCO reports an estimate of 258 million children and youth in the world do not go to school. And 7.9 million of those children are Filipino children.
“And even those who are enrolled, they don’t even have fair access to quality education. It’s all disparity.
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“So, those children who are in marginalized communities have the least access to quality education.
“Girls, children from low-income families, and those who are in conflict areas have the least access to quality education.
“Now, how can we solve this? The answer is TIP. Technology, Investment and Policy. With technology, we can leverage the educational gap that is currently happening. And I have actually tried this in our learning center, which I’ve built with the help of many people.
“And we have gathered 20 iMacs, intranets, projectors, to make sure that the children will be able to learn even outside of classrooms.
“Second, investment. We have to invest into education and make sure that it is reached to marginalized communities. Personally, when I did an outreach in the Philippines, I went to a very isolated place called Guimaras, Iloilo.
“And I saw how hard it was for them to reach for resources, for learning tools, and I met a girl called Rodnia. Thanks to URDA, she is the first graduate of her tribe, and she is now a teacher.
“And that investment is that she is giving back to her community, she is teaching, and she is ensuring that all her six siblings will have access to education.”
“Next is policy. Now, policymakers need to ensure that these policies and laws are regulated and mandated for people who don’t have access to quality education…
“Those who are in dark places, isolated, those people I’ve worked with every single day at URDA Foundation in Baseco area, which is the poorest area in Manila.
“We need to ensure that these are the people that are being heard. Those children, their stories, stories like Rodnia, stories who deserve to be heard on a platform like this.
“And I want to thank Madam Julia Morley for giving us the Beauty With A Purpose platform for allowing those children to be heard. Because we are all interconnected as one Earth, one family, and one future,” esplika pa niya.
Makakalaban ni Gwen ang 117 iba pang kandidata mula sa iba’t ibang panig ng mundo sa magaganap na grand coronation night mamaya sa Mumbai, India.
Sino nga kaya ang papalit sa trono ni Miss World Karolina Bielawska ng Poland? Abangan!