“We are immensely proud of our students and wish them the best in the 1st Asian Cultural Heritage Conservation and Utilization Proposal competition,” remarked Dr. Fatima Nicetas R. Alonzo, dean of the College of Architecture.

Alonzo also said that they look forward to forging a linkage with Sun Yat-sen University as part of UNP’s internationalization program.

Judged as “notable,” the entries of the two teams underwent rigorous screening, which started in November 2022, for them to belong to the Top 20 of the said competition.

This contest is open to all Asian university students (including undergraduates, masters, or doctoral students) or Asian youth between 18-32 years old.

Their proposals were disseminated first as short videos on multiple social media platforms. Thereafter, they sent their proposals (including the online video and written proposal text) to the organizers. 

A panel of judges conducted a preliminary evaluation of all qualified entries. The entries were reduced to 50. Finally, the top 20 outstanding teams were invited to visit Guangdong Province, China, for a proposal defense. From these twenty proposals, the top three winners will be selected.

The grant includes round trip fare from Laoag to Guangzhou. It also covers food and domestic transportation during the official events including the competition presentation and transportation to and from Guangzhou, Zhuhai, and Luoyang.

Accordingly, this competition aims to “promote cultural heritage education between Asian countries, share cultural heritage protection and utilization best practices, spread the concept of sustainable development of cultural heritage, and strengthen cultural exchanges and knowledge sharing among the youth in Asian countries.”

In addition, the event highlights youth participation in this competition with the end goal of “building a network of exchanges, cooperation, presentation, and communication for youngsters of Asian countries and enhancing their knowledge and interest in Asia’s cultural heritage.”

Meanwhile, the host university is one of Asia’s best. According to the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, it ranked in the 251-300 bracket worldwide and was the 38th best in Asia.