𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐂𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐞: 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐒 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬’ 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐲

June 26, 2025

by 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘭 𝘔. 𝘈𝘻𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘢, 𝘑𝘳., 𝘚𝘛𝘈𝘙𝘉𝘖𝘖𝘒𝘚 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘵

Taguig City, 25 June 2025 – STARBOOKS honored its stakeholders, collaborators, and partners on the Stakeholders’ Appreciation Day, recognizing their commitment and contribution at the Kalayaan Hall, SM Aura in Taguig City on 24 June 2025.

Dubbed “Celebrating in Full Circle in Innovation, Learning, and Collaboration,” the celebration of STARBOOKS’ Stakeholders’ Appreciation Day serves to honor the commitment of the regional and provincial offices, deployment officers, partner organizations—both in the public and private sectors—educators and librarians, and community members in disseminating science, technology, and innovation (ST&I) information to geographically isolated areas nationwide.

"Today, we will celebrate in full circle and recognize our outstanding advocates who have been part of STARBOOKS through innovation, collaboration, and learning. This recognition is our way of conveying our deep appreciation for your immense hard work in bringing this 'digital library in a box' throughout the farthest, most remote reaches of the country," said Asec. Napoleon K. Juanillo Jr., PhD, officer-in-charge of DOST-STII.

"Your unwavering collaborative spirit serves as our pillar here in DOST-STII to keep us in the momentum of striving to build an ST&I-centric nation, one STARBOOKS kiosk at a time," he underscored.

Taguig City Mayor Ma. Laarni "Lani" Cayetano, represented by Councilor and Chairman for Committee on Science and Technology Hon. Edgar Victor S. Baptista said that the collaboration between DOST-NCR and DOST-STII for STARBOOKS served as a key to the development of the city's foundation for education and learning of children of Taguig City.

Baptista added that when both DOST-NCR and DOST-STII reached out to the Taguig LGU for the deployment of STARBOOKS in the city, the local government readily accepted the proposal.

Baptista ended his special message with words of gratitude for STARBOOKS and all its collaborators.

𝐃𝐄𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐘𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓

STARBOOKS gave special awards to the top 14 regions/provincial offices with the highest percentage/number of STARBOOKS installations in their respective clusters from the program's inception in 2011 to 2024.

The following were recognized as the top deployment masters: DOST Agusan del Norte, DOST PAMAMAZON CASTO, DOST Ifugao, DOST Marinduque, DOST Benguet, DOST Surigao del Norte, DOST Sultan Kudarat, DOST Leyte, DOST Cebu, DOST Pangasinan, DOST Davao del Sur, and DOST Ilocos Sur, with DOST Bohol, DOST North Cotabato, and DOST Isabela recognized as Bronze, Silver, and Gold deployment masters, respectively.

𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐈𝐑𝐂𝐋𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐒

STARBOOKS also honored 25 new and active partner institutions that significantly contribute [in terms of content, deployment, donation, and promotion] to the success of the STARBOOKS program.

The valued partners were the following: FrontLearners, Inc.; FlipScience, Center for Integrated STEM Education, Inc. (CISTEM), UNILAB Foundation, Asia Pacific College, Quipper Philippines, Programa Genio, C&E Publishing, Inc., Project REIINN of DOST-ASTI, Team Energy Corporation, Hyundai Motor Philippines, Inc., REVLV Solutions, Inc., Pagbilao Energy Corporation, Office of Civil Defense, Salesforce, Cerebro Solutions, Inc., DOST Bohol for STARBOOKS 4G, Taguig City LGU, DOST-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, Saint Louis University, Schneider Electric Philippines, Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Training Institute, ASMEPPS (Association of Science and Mathematics Educators of Philippine Private Schools), and Knowledge Channel Foundation, Inc.

Aside from the awarding ceremonies, STARBOOKS hosted three contests for the event: Creative STARBOOKS Social Media Contest, Innovative STARBOOKS Deployment Video Contest, and STARBOOKS Musical Jingle Contest.

𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐀 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐒

This contest highlighted the most creative feature article with an artistic caption supported by an impressive social media campaign. This contest also showcased STARBOOKS milestones from the provinces and regions.

The winners were DOST North Cotabato—Hashtag Hero Award, DOST Tarlac—Best Scribe Award, and DOST Nueva Ecija—Digital Storyteller Champion.

DOST Nueva Ecija received a brand-new tablet and P5,000 cash.

𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐘𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎𝐒

Capturing the day-in-the-life of a deployment officer, this video competition showed the hard work, dedication, and commitment of STARBOOKS' strongest link on the ground during installation and deployment in the farthest corners of the country.

The most innovative deployment videos were DOST Ilocos Norte - Deployment Achievement Award, DOST Nueva Ecija - Deployment Excellence Award, and DOST Pangasinan - STARBOOKS Deployment Champion.

DOST Pangasinan STARBOOKS deployment officer Edward Ugale received a brand-new laptop and P5,000 cash.

𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄, 𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆, 𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋, 𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐒 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐉𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄

Centering around the theme of STEAM education, innovation, and the impact of STARBOOKS on lives and communities, the Musical Jingle Contest celebrated creativity, promoted STEAM education, and engaged the STARBOOKS community through the art of music.

With her winning piece "STARBOOKS: One Click, One Dream,” Jay-vee T. Lanchon bagged a brand-new tablet and P3,000 cash. Other winners were Tricia Mae Rosario with the entry titled "STARBOOKS Music Jingle” and Sinag at Himig Tondol National High School with the entry titled "STARBOOKS Bridging Dreams and Knowledge.”

"Today, we have come full circle, witnessing how that initial spark has ignited a sustainable ecosystem. We've seen presentations showcasing not just technological advancements, but the profound human impact—the learning journeys transformed, communities empowered, and futures reshaped," said Alan C. Taule, Chief of the Information Resources and Analysis Division of DOST-STII, in his closing message.

"And woven through it all, the undeniable golden thread: collaboration. The partnerships between government, educators, technologists, local communities, and passionate individuals—you—are the very engine driving this success," Taule stated.

Taule also said that "Coming Full Circle" signifies a beautiful closure to one significant chapter.

“We've validated our approach, measured our impact, and celebrated shared achievements. But in the truest sense of a circle, this completion is also a launchpad. The knowledge exchanged today, the networks strengthened, and the challenges honestly discussed have already begun tracing the arc of our next revolution,” he added.

One of the DOST-STII’s flagship projects, STARBOOKS, has been deployed to more than 9,200 sites nationwide as of 24 June 2025. STARBOOKS has also been included in the National Priority Plan (NPP) of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) from 2017 to the present.

#STARBOOKSAppreciationDay2025 #STARBOOKSFullCircle #OneDOST4U