IT COULD be said that I strayed into the science and technology advocacy and policy field by accident.
I had just taken my oath as a Foreign Service Officer (FSO) at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) when I was recruited by then DFA Undersecretary Poch Macaranas to become his Special Assistant for Science and Technology.
In that capacity, I became the Director of the UNDP Transfer of Knowledge Thru Expatriates (TOKTEN) program, the Science and Technology Advisory Council (STAC) and the Return of Knowledge (ROK) program of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
I also became the DFA representative to the DOST Balik-Scientist Program, the Science and Technology Coordinating Council (STCC), the UNDP Technological Trade and Information Promotion System (TIPS) and the National Information Technology Council (NITC).
When I was the Director General of the National Computer Center (NCC), my agency was transferred to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and so I automatically became a member of the DOST Management Committee (MANCOM), with the de facto rank of Undersecretary.
In that capacity, I was able to meet more scientists and technologists who represented all the DOST bureaus and attached agencies. Perhaps it was there that I began to fully realize the value of science and technology in our society.
Very recently, I have the privilege of attending the online meetings of the National Academy for Science and Technology (NAST), where I was happy to meet many academicians and scientists. It is because of that that I was again reminded that we should really do more to harness the skills and talents of our scientists and technologists, towards nation building and national development.
As my modest contribution towards this end, I have created a Facebook Messenger chat group for this purpose. If you want to join this chat group, please look for Science and Technology Alliance for National Development (STAND) in Facebook.
We are inviting everyone who wants to support the science and technology advocacy in our country, including those who are still taking science courses in college, and those who have chosen the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) strand in senior high school. Please help spread the word./PN
