Educators, industry leaders, government representatives, students, and community members will gather around the same tables on November 21, 2026, at PUP Hasmin for A.L.A.B. (Advancing Learning through Active Bayanihan), an interactive café-style event on the future of tourism and hospitality education.
Themed “Voices Across the Table: Bringing Diverse Perspectives into Meaningful Dialogue,” the World Café aims to bridge the gap between what is taught in classrooms and what the industry and communities actually need. The word ALAB, meaning flame, reflects the spark of ideas that grows when people share and build on each other’s insights.
Four Tables, One Shared Conversation
Participants will rotate through four discussion tables named after traditional Filipino containers: Ang Palayok, Ang Bayong, Ang Banga, and Ang Kaing. Each table serves as a “container of ideas” centered on a curriculum-related question. Over four 30-minute rounds, participants can write, draw, or doodle their thoughts directly on the table paper. A Table Host stays at each table to recap earlier ideas and help connect them with new contributions.
After the rotations, participants return to their original tables to see how the ideas have grown. During the break, Table Hosts and Facilitators consolidate the outputs, and each host then shares their table’s key insights with everyone in a plenary presentation.
The process draws on Filipino craftsmanship. Paghuhulma (shaping), as in making the palayok and banga, stands for refining ideas through discussion. Paghahabi (weaving), as in making the bayong and kaing, stands for combining ideas into a shared understanding. Pag-aani (harvesting) stands for sharing the insights gathered.
Who Will Take Part
Invited participants include representatives from academe, government agencies and local government units, NGOs, private tourism and hospitality companies, industry associations, students, alumni, local entrepreneurs and MSMEs, and community leaders and representatives.
What the Event Hopes to Achieve
By the end of the day, participants aim to:
- Identify strengths, gaps, and commonalities in existing tourism and hospitality curricula
- Explore how AI can responsibly support curriculum development
- Propose core subjects, competencies, and learning outcomes that may be shared across programs
- Develop recommendations for curriculum alignment among programs in the National Capital Region
- Identify collaborative initiatives and partnerships among stakeholders
Each table is expected to produce at least three practical recommendations, for a minimum of twelve consolidated recommendations. Within one week after the event, the organizing committee will compile the findings into a report for relevant education stakeholders.
Beyond the discussions, attendees can enjoy a café-style setup with coffee and Filipino merienda, a booth area, and collectible festival-inspired keychains, all set in a minimalist Filipino heritage design featuring the palayok, bayong, banga, and kaing.
Event Details
- Event: A.L.A.B. (Advancing Learning through Active Bayanihan)
- Date: November 21, 2026 (Saturday)
- Venue: PUP M.H. Del Pilar Campus
About the Organizers
A.L.A.B. is organized by fourth-year students of BSTM 4-3D from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) College of Tourism, Hospitality and Transportation Management (CTHTM), as part of their MICE subject.
What happens when Filipino heritage is given a space to be understood, celebrated, and sustained?
This is the idea behind SALIN, a heritage forum and pitching competition organized by DAGITAB Production, a student-led production team composed of fourth-year Tourism Management students from Section 3D of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines–Manila.
SALIN stands for Safeguarding and Advancing Legacies through Innovation and Nurturing. Guided by the theme “Heritage In Action & Motion: Sustaining Identity Through Innovation,” the event focuses on heritage conservation and utilization, bringing together students to explore how Filipino cultural heritage can be protected while remaining relevant and accessible through tourism and innovation.
The event begins with a heritage forum that opens discussions on the importance of conserving and responsibly utilizing cultural heritage. This is followed by a heritage pitching competition, where student teams will present ideas centered on local tangible and intangible heritage. Through their pitches, participants are encouraged to consider how tourism and innovation can support the continued use and appreciation of heritage without compromising its identity and authenticity.
Through these discussions and ideas, SALIN creates a space for students to look at heritage not only as something to preserve but also as something that can be responsibly utilized, experienced, and carried forward.
