ILO Philippines wins “Earth Camp” Photo Contest

The International Labor Organization (ILO)-Philippine was proclaimed as the winner of the "EARTH CAMP Photo Contest," during a virtual Awarding Ceremony on 31 January 2021. The contest gathered photos around the world that capture scenes of International Cooperation. ILO Philippines was recognized for its submission, which features the ILO-Japan Water and Sanitation Project, in South Upi, Maguindanao. The representative of ILO Japan accepted the award on behalf of ILO Philippines during the ceremony.
 
In a separate message, Mr Khalid Hassan, Director, ILO Country Office for the Philippines said “the International Labour Organization Country Office for the Philippines is extremely grateful to the Government of Japan for the recognition.
 
The winning photo out of 42 entries was from the ILO-Japan Water and Sanitation Project in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, submitted by our ILO Tokyo Office.
 
The photo depicts a message of hope. Communities now have their water system amid the COVID-19, poverty, climate change and conflict. It shows how decent work can contribute to fulfil basic human rights in fragile communities and build peace. 
 
The project hired community members as contractors. It used a local-resource based approach and provided skills training.
 
This recognition inspires us to do more and be better as we continue to promote decent work and provide access to safe water to more vulnerable people.
 
We look forward to a stronger relationship with Japan to implement sustainable solutions, build a better future of work and contribute to peace and development through decent work.”
 
On 9 November 2020, ILO and the Government of Japan handed over a Level II Water System to the Timanan Central Elementary School (TCES) in South Upi. The initiative is part of the ILO-Japan Water and Sanitation Project in the Bangsamoro Region, which aims to develop water infrastructure that will benefit an estimated 11,814 households in the Bangsamoro region.  (https://www.ph.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_ja/11_000001_00250.html)
 
The said Photo Contest is one of the activities of EARTH CAMP – a joint international cooperation campaign of the Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the International Cooperation NGO Center (JANIC). It is an on-going campaign from 6 October 2020 to 31 March 2021.
 
ILO Philippines’ winning photo will be exhibited online, and will be published in the "White Paper on Development Cooperation."