Filipino Student Writers to Feature Crop Biotech in Campus Journalism Contest

Student journalists and writers in the Philippines are invited to join the Biotech Campus Journalism Contest organized by the Philippine Science Journalists Association Inc. (PSciJourn), AGHAM Party List,  the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture-Biotechnology Information Center (SEARCA BIC).

Winners and finalists will be entitled to join a two-day study tour to TV/radio stations/newspaper publishing offices and biotech laboratories and field trials in the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). Participants must submit a feature article with the topic "The Benefits and Potentials of Modern Crop Biotechnology in the Philippines" on or before October 31, 2012.

Divided into high school and college levels, the Contest aims to enhance the knowledge of student journalists on the growing promises of biotechnology for food security and agricultural sustainability in the country by encouraging them to research on the topic and interview Filipino scientists, biotech corn farmers, and even regulators of biotech crops. Ten finalists will be selected from each level. The first, second, and third place winners in both levels will receive cash prizes of Php15,000, Php10,000, and Php7,000, respectively; while the succeeding finalists will each receive Php2,000 cash prize. An AGHAM Congressional Medal will also be awarded to each winner/finalist. Moreover, the schools of the two first place winners in both levels will also receive Php5,000 cash prize each. They will be recognized and awarded in the upcoming 8^th National Biotechnology Week. 

For the complete contest mechanics and details on submission of entries, visit SEARCA BIC's website, http://www.bic.searca.org, or e-mail bic@agri.searca.org. Queries may also be forwarded to AGHAM Party List via e-mail to ambmateo@gmail.com.