Bicol University Extension Management Division - BUEMD

𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆, 𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆.

How do we rebuild fear into trust, and schools into places of safety and belonging?

Recent acts of school violence have raised difficult but necessary questions about bullying, mental health, family dynamics, and the role of schools in protecting every learner.

Join us today, July 1, 2026, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 NN, as Dr. Sipronio B. Belardo examines these pressing issues in “Fear, Trust, and Belonging: The Psychology of School Safety” in the radio segment “Gabay Isip sa Himpapawid."

An insightful discussion exploring the hidden psychological factors behind school violence and the urgent need to foster emotionally safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environments for every child.

📍Catch us live on the DZGB News Online page and the Bicol University EMD page.

𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗙𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘 | AUTragon: When extension becomes a lifeline for futures yet unwritten

Extension work often begins with a simple act of sharing knowledge. But in practice, its real power is revealed in what happens after the training ends - when learning is tested by reality, and when opportunity either continues… or disappears.

For the Bicol University Extension Management Division (BUEMD), that question became the turning point. On February 19, 2025, in partnership with the Special Therapy and Education Program (STEP) Center – Harong Kan Sagrada Familia, the office, through its project leader, Dr. Elizabeth E. Alfane, conducted vocational skills trainings for youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Through hands-on sessions in Basic Food Service Management and Artisanal Baking, participants were introduced to practical competencies that could help them step into life beyond the classroom—not just as learners, but as potential contributors to the workforce.

The training was successful by conventional standards: skills were taught, engagement was high, and both facilitators and participants completed the program with measurable gains. But success, in this case, also revealed a gap.

What happens after the training ends?

For many extension initiatives, that question remains unanswered. Skills are transferred, certificates are given, and communities are left to navigate the next steps on their own. But for BUEMD and STEP Center, that gap became impossible to ignore.

It was from this critical reflection that the idea of the Establishment of Social Enterprise Employment Space for Youth with Neurodevelopmental Challenges (ESE-ESY) was born - not as an add-on project, but as an extension of purpose itself.

Designed as a bridge between education, skills development, and sustainable employment, ESE-ESY reimagines what extension work can become when it refuses to end at training. Grounded in research and shaped by the principles of social entrepreneurship, the initiative creates an inclusive employment space where youth with neurodevelopmental challenges are not only trained, but supported to work, earn, and grow within a structured and understanding environment.

Here, inclusion is not an abstract advocacy statement - it is operationalized through customized job support, guided workplace systems, and opportunities that recognize neurodivergent strengths rather than focusing on limitations. It is a shift from preparing individuals for employment to building employment spaces that are prepared for them.

The official launching of the AUTragon on March 24, 2026 at Harong Kan Sagrada Familia in Bogtong, Legazpi City marked more than a ceremonial milestone. It represented the formal beginning of a model that seeks to redefine how institutions respond to disability, opportunity, and participation.

With the presence of the Bishop of the Diocese of Legazpi Most Rev. Joel Z. Baylon, D.D., representatives from STEP Center, members of the business sector, trainers, beneficiaries, and BUEMD leaders, the launch affirmed a shared commitment: that inclusion must move beyond intention and into implementation.

At its core, AUTragon is more than an employment initiative. It is a statement about what becomes possible when extension work evolves into long-term social transformation. It challenges the traditional boundaries of academic outreach and asks institutions to see continuity - not completion - as the true measure of impact.

Because in the end, the real success of any extension project is not found in the number of participants trained, but in the futures that continue to unfold after the project ends.

And for BUEMD, that future is no longer an afterthought. It is the work itself.

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 ‘𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵’ 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲’𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱.

Join us tomorrow, June 10, 2026, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 NN for another meaningful discussion with Dr. Herbert B. Rosana, Program Chair of the Peace Studies Department, BU College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, as he explores “Peace in the Age of Social Media.”

A deep dive into today’s digital realities - misinformation and hate, digital bullying, responsible social media use, and how we can rise as digital peace builders - for the segment “Usapang Kapayapaan: Ekonomiya, Digmaan, at Papel ng Mamamayang Pilipino.”

Catch us live on the DZGB News Online page and the Bicol University EMD page.