Baguio hub offers free programs to foster creativity, innovation for kids

BAGUIO, Philippines – How many children do you know who enthusiastically attend after-school and weekend activities where they learn more about science, technology, writing, art, and even entrepreneurship?

For four years, Vivistop Baguio at Yangco Hub was that place for children up to 15 years old. It temporarily closed its doors in August, but they are set to reopen at Berkeley School, still in Baguio, in October.

“We are an after-school maker space where the youth can follow their creative voice and vision using modern tools and equipment, with guidance from mentors and the crew,” Vivistop Baguio Executive Director Gabe Mercado said. “We want to incubate future leaders, artists, inventors, and creative minds.”

During their various activities, these young people have produced functioning robots, arts and crafts, short films, and even books – all for free.

Vivita Studios is an idea originally developed in Japan that has expanded to Estonia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United States. The only studio in the Philippines, Vivistop Baguio, opened in September 2020, supported by Vivita International and Mistletoe of Japan.

“We offered Baguio as the place for the first Vivistop in the Philippines because it’s a UNESCO Creative City, a campus town with many students, and because the community is homogenous, you don’t feel a big gap between social classes,” said Candy Reyes-Alipio, Vivistop Baguio creative director.

Enabling environment

Vivistop Baguio is conducive to creativity and innovation due to a combination of factors. First, there’s the overarching idea that learning should be fun, and children should develop the “4 Cs” of 21st-century skills: critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity.

The studio is also chock-full of different tools and equipment that help children translate their ideas into tangible items, including a 3D printer, laser cutting machine, laminating machine, video equipment, computers, plastic grinder, heat press and silk screen, sewing machine, beads, and ingredients to make slime. A lot of slime.

“Creativity can be accessed and cultivated by everyone,” Mercado said. 

The mentors and crew at Vivistop treat each child as a co-equal partner who leads the creative process, while adhering to basic safety rules, of course. All these elements contribute to making the studio a place where children are free to create, free to participate in activities, and free to use the available tools, at no cost at all.

Pandemic pivots

Vivistop Baguio opened during the COVID-19 pandemic, so they immediately had to design their programs to spark creativity remotely. One such program involved children ages 7 to 15, who were assigned mentors and underwent workshops on the various stages and processes involved in making a book.

Conducting activities online allowed Vivistop Baguio to expand its audience to other parts of the Philippines – one participant was from Metro Manila and another from Davao. At the end of nine months, each of the nine children had a printed book to show for it.

“I really enjoyed the process of writing, illustrating, and publishing my first book with the help of my mentors and the crew,” said 12-year-old Toni Narciza.

Vivistop Baguio also hosted “Out of this World Conversations” on its Facebook and YouTube channels, allowing children to interact with professionals in unique fields, like microbial oceanographers and Navy pilots. 

Another online activity was “Eat and Greet,” where children learned about different cultures through their food.

Creative collaborations

In 2023, the first Vivita Robocon outside Japan was held with 82 students from schools and universities in Baguio and Benguet. It was an exciting and interesting experience for the participants, who demonstrated their fully functional robots.

“We didn’t win, but winning in my eyes was being able to compete, making new friends along the way, and meeting legends in the field of robotics,” said 12-year-old Kenneth Nathan Bautista.

The interactions Vivistop Baguio fosters also help the children build a sense of community in a world that is increasingly more digital and virtual rather than relational and social.

“Vivita is my second home,” Bautista said. “Since I joined Vivita, I’ve attended all their activities because I always learn new things and make new memories.”

His mother, Myla, added that Vivita “helps develop skills and creativity, and the children have become a family.”

“Vivistop Baguio has been running for free because we want it to be accessible to everyone regardless of financial status and because we want the kids to be free to explore their own ideas and have a limitless mindset. So it is difficult to sustain without outside funding,” Alipio said.

Alipio added, “For the past four years – whether in Baguio or during our four-day workshops in communities – we’ve seen how much Filipino children need a space and a nurturing environment like Vivita. That really inspires us to keep going.”

Partnerships have become crucial so Vivita Philippines can conduct various activities. They’ve held multi-day pop-up events in cooperation with local governments, public schools, and public libraries. They’ve set up experiences for learners and teachers similar to those at Vivistop Baguio in Bacnotan, La Union; Benguet; Bontoc; Aborlan, Palawan; Urdaneta, Pangasinan; and Calapan, Mindoro.

Children have always been free to access the facilities and programs at Vivistop, which are funded mainly by Vivita International. This year, they have leaned more heavily on local partnerships and sponsorships. 

In August, they also held a major fund-raising event when the successful improv group SPIT (Silly People’s Improv Theater) Manila – co-founded by Mercado – performed at a sold-out, one-night-only show. The proceeds, according to Alipio, helped a lot in allowing them to continue operations. – Rappler.com