Influencer Jessica Colastica from E-Awards Foundation

Interview March 26, 2018

E-awards entering a next 5 year’s cycle
On the 21st of March in Sambil E-Awards Foundation directed by Jessica Colastica presented the highlights of their next 5 year’s program. This event was also attended by the Minister of Education Mrs. Marilyn Alcalá-Wallé.

The E-Awards foundation started 5 years ago after Nazira Colastica (daughter of Jessica) went from the best student at VSBO to the best student of HAVO to finally ending up in VWO and received a KAP-award. This triggered Nazira to start the foundation with her younger brother, explicitly aimed to pay tribute to those whom have excelled in their performances at school. During these past 5 years the E-Awards foundation have offered tribute to youth from different ages, honoring them for their school results and good behavior. As Nazira had experienced herself this increases their self-worth greatly. It even inspires them to do even better and raise their ambition levels.

Jessica: “We have done some research in the past and it was clear that contrary to mainstream thinking some years ago, most of our youth were doing OK and some even good to excellent. We were convinced that we were not confronted with a lost youth, that was totally out of control. We then decided to emphasize the positive side of our youth and with great success. The event that had the most impact in the past 5 years was the awards we gave to students from different ages and school levels, but we also offered recognition to teachers, parents, secretaries and what have you more. Imagine what the attendance of great number of family members does to a youth when he/she gets an award.” E-Awards has also consciously worked on prevention and improved motivation among students, so that the youth could be enabled, to take better and wiser decisions.

But after 5 years there is a changed in focus. They will now also be focusing more on the parents of the students, aimed at getting them more involved into the school activities of their children.
During the presentation at Sambil, three projects were introduced:
1. “Kada minut ta konta” for the primary school level;
2. “Den Nos dos” for the secondary school level;
3. “ Maestria Innovativo” aimed at teaching students to not only learn what they need to learn, but it is aimed at triggering them to innovate and increase the number of possibilities to look at things. Some of this new curriculum (with 21st century educational elements) has already been introduced on a trial basis to schools with very promising results, as it appears to change the way the teacher looks at and approaches students.

Another part of their focus in the coming years will be to enable students, that have the talent and are interested in music, to develop and practice this interest. Jessica: “Ultimately we will try to enable this at different schools to make it ultimately possible to have a philharmonic orchestra of students form different schools. I firmly belief that if we can get enough parents involved we could, by first taking small steps, collect enough funds to physically improve the music, sports and study class room facilities at schools. Improved class rooms can inspire the students to do even better in music, sports and their learning abilities”.

Jessica also shared with us, that the collaboration of schoolteachers and the school boards up to now have been excellent and she is very grateful for this. She also is grateful for the number of volunteer teachers, parents and students from our University, that give a hand in helping the E-Awards foundation reach and amplify their goals. Jessica on her funding: “We have had some very loyal sponsors that had helped us from the beginning till this moment. But we could still use some more sponsors to reach our goals for the coming 5 years”. For more information you can contact Jessica at premio-perfekto@hotmail.com or go to their Facebook.com/E-Awards Fundation page. As core group of Share2Uplift we totally support E-Awards and will when possible continue to connect and align efforts.