An update from Manila's interim alumni core group

this past saturday, a group in manila met at the ateneo grade school to discuss the creation of an official sibol alumni group. here's an unofficial report—it's really and cut-paste job of an email from boyet dy. read on and comment and volunteer as you wish.

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Hi again everyone,

Thanks again to GK, Ali, Tattel, Igo, Jojo, and Jonny for attending last Saturday's meeting. Thanks as well to Lex and Edwin for being with us through technology. PJ actually also wanted to join via phone-patch, but we weren't able to arrange for it anymore. Special thanks to Jonny for hosting us, complete with juice, turon, and lasagna!

Toward the end of the meeting, we were all very happy with how productive it has been. As we were saying, perhaps it just proved that it was indeed about time to start the conversation on this. The topic was ripe for conversation from the very start!

Attached is the minutes of the meeting [edit: available upon request], and Igo deserves the credit for that. We began with a discussion on the value/ importance of forming a Sibol alumni group. Based on the discussion on this segment, here's my first crack at pinning down what the group's Vision, Mission, and Objectives could be. What do you think about this draft articulation?

Vision: Sibol alumni that continue to live out Sibol values individually and as a group
Mission: Create integral opportunities for the alumni to reconnect with and support each other, Dulaang Sibol and its related activities
Objectives:
1. Build a vibrant community among the alumni for mutual support and continued growth
2. Coordinate alumni efforts to support the activities of current Sibol and the Sibol-initiated foundations
3. Coordinate alumni efforts to preserve and spread the legacy of Mr. Pagsi

After discussing the value/ importance of forming a Sibol alumni group, we spent a lot of time (the bulk of the meeting, actually) exploring the potential we see in harnessing the relationship between the alumni and current Sibol/ the Foundations/ Mr. Pagsi. After trying to imagine what can go into that relationship from both ends (what the alumni can provide to Sibol/ the Foundations/ Mr. Pagsi and vice-versa), we attempted to brainstorm on possible activities/ services that can address such a relationship. The list of activities/ services were then categorized into 5 clusters, and team leaders volunteered (or were volunteered! Hehe.) to thresh out the details for each:

Archive
Team Leaders: Jojo & Ali
Component Activities: coffeetable book; collection of photos, music, plays, posters, arrangements, etc.

Online
Team Leaders: Jonny & Igo
Component Activities: dynamic directory (which includes alumni fields of profession/ expertise); sharing of videos/ photos of current Sibol, Mr. Pagsi's reflections and talks, etc.; sharing of Sibol's calendar of activities


Traditions
Team Leaders: Boyet & GK
Component Activities: reviving the summer conservatory; annual homecoming; mentoring/ talks for current Sibol; regular open house where alumni can come home and share experiences and reflections; regular retreat for the alumni; regular geographical alumni gatherings

Resource Mobilization
Team Leaders: Johnny and PJ (Haha! We volunteered the two of you! Hope it's okay.)
Component Activities: fund-raising; fund-management

Successor Search
This is the biggest question mark for now.

The agreement was for the team leaders to thresh out the details for their assigned cluster and the agenda for the next meeting, which will be 4PM on February 20, is to hear each other out.

At the same time, there was a suggestion to send a 'press release' to the broader alumni community, perhaps through the E-groups and Facebook, to give updates on what's happening in order to start the process of generating interest and buy-in for the Sibol alumni group and its consequent activities. It would be a perfect way to sound off the entire endeavor as well. Any volunteers to work on this? :) Separately, perhaps we ought to update Mr. Pagsi directly as well, if only to inform him that we've met already and that we will be inviting him to join the discussions once we have something more solid.

I guess that's all for now. Thank you everyone for your time and ideas, as always!

Best,
-boyet-