Reach More, Teach More: KCFI’s Year in Awards and Innovation
Lopez Link Newsletter - February 2025 Issue
By Jal Castino
The year 2024 was a breakthrough year for Knowledge Channel Foundation Inc. (KCFI) as it solidified its role as a champion of education and child-friendly content. It earned prestigious awards and recognitions while continuing to innovate through impactful programs, partnerships and efforts to make quality education accessible to Filipino learners nationwide.
KCFI’s curriculum-aligned shows garnered numerous awards last year, including Most Development-Oriented Environmental Program for “Musikantahan” (from Gandingan Awards); Professional Fiction Category for “Kwentoons” (from Sinebata); ChildFriendly Content Standards for “MathDali” and “Puno ng Buhay” (from National Council for Children’s Television or NCCT); Best Children and Youth Program for “AgriKids” (from Catholic Mass Media Awards); and Anak TV Seals for “Wow: Bukidnon,” “Lakbay Aral,” “Tropang K!- Likasan,” “AgriKids,” “MathDali,” “Siklo ng Enerhiya,” “Wikaharian Online World,” “Knowledge on the Go,” “Art Smart” and “MathDali Online World” (from Anak TV Seal Awards).
KCFI president and executive director Rina Lopez accepts the GREEN ZEAL Award for Excellence in Education on behalf of KCFI at the 6th Gawad Lasallianeta
Aside from receiving awards for its shows, KCFI won the GREEN ZEAL Award for Excellence in Education Innovation (from Gawad Lasallianeta) and recognition for its Outstanding Commitment to Child-Friendly Content Standards (from NCCT). It was also a finalist for Outstanding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Environment for EcoProject Year 3 with Breeze and for Outstanding CSR in Education for Learning Effectively through Enhanced and Evidence-based Pedagogies (LEEP)-Climate Change (from the League of Corporate Foundations or LCF)—a collaboration with First Gen Corporation that trained and provided Knowledge Channel video lessons to 170 principals and teachers in First Gen areas.
As a long-time partner of organizations and advocate for democratizing education, KCFI has been recognized by the Department of Education (DepEd), the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Council, Metrobank Foundation, Bantay Bata 163 and iAcademy. Additionally, it received Outstanding Stakeholder and Most Outstanding Stakeholder awards from the DepEd Schools Division Office of Quezon City during its 5th Gawad Kaagapay, and an award from LCF for its 25 years of membership and advocacy. These awards reflect KCFI’s passion, effort and dedication to improving learning outcomes and education in the Philippines. Beyond recognition, it developed a lot of new video lessons and sealed strategic partnerships.
At the ‘MathDali’ Grade 1 launch attended by more than 200 learners at Oranbo Elementary School in Pasig
In total, KCFI produced 108 video lessons, including 10 new “MathDali” Grade 1 episodes in collaboration with BDO Foundation and Huawei Philippines. KCFI distributed 56 Knowledge Channel TV (KC TV) and 126 Knowledge Channel Portable Media Library (KC PML) packages to beneficiary schools and child development centers nationwide. To maximize the use of these offline learning resources, over 1,168 teachers and child development workers and teachers (CDW/Ts) received technical training. Additionally, 8,882 teachers participated in LEEP training and the teachers’ conference, while 7,236 CDW/Ts and caregivers of children attended KCARE training and Early Care Matters conferences to promote early childhood development or ECD for 0- to 8-year-olds.
KCFI Vice President Edric Calma (2nd from right) and AFI Managing Director Roberta Lopez-Feliciano (center) at the 2024 LCF CSR Expo in Makati
Meanwhile, KCFI vice president Edric Calma and ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. (AFI) managing director Roberta Lopez-Feliciano were elected in December as vice chairman and corporate secretary respectively of LCF. Calma was a three-term chair of the Committee on Education (CommEd), the biggest LCF committee with 60 foundation-members. During his stint, he initiated and implemented a collaborative project to help improve the quality of teaching and learning in Talaga Elementary School (TES) in Rizal, a school for relocatees from informal communities in Quezon City and other areas in the National Capital Region. Over two years, CommEd members participated by bringing in their respective foundations’ education initiatives, including KCFI’s LEEP and Knowledge Channel video resources. The foundations also took charge of monitoring and assessing the impact of the project, with TES collating the reports including outputs, awards received and improvement in learning outcomes. The iniatitive netted the first LCF Outstanding Collaboration Project for the CommEd—and KCFI, as Calma was the committee chair—in 2019.
“Being on the LCF board and being its vice chair is a platform to do more beyond the things that we do in KCFI, for education and for CSR, in the service of the Filipino. With so many problems besetting the Filipino, there is so much to do. Bringing CSR agents and people together to the drawing board and on-ground is a good igniter of solutions,” Calma reflected. He thanked KCFI president and executive director Rina Lopez for encouraging him to take on roles outside the foundation, within the Lopez Group and even in outside networks. These roles called for him to work closely with organizations with different advocacies and initiatives, helping him achieve more and learn more in the process. “I also thank the Lopez Group for continuously supporting KCFI and its advocacies in helping improve the lives of the Filipino, to help ensure that each child, each one has access to opportunities for development and quality education,” he added.
On the other hand, as managing director at AFI, Feliciano has driven projects addressing social issues such as disaster response, environment, children’s welfare and health. Prior to her election, Feliciano served as a member of the LCF board—a vantage point that allowed her to observe the possibilities and potential of collaborative efforts among the member corporations and CSR agents. Further, attending the CSR Conference and Expo, she appreciated the depth and quality of the speakers, and the exhibition booths that presented a wealth of information about the members and their CSR efforts. “As corporate secretary, I am happy to watch and learn from many that have been around the block many more times than I,” the managing director of AFI said.
Photo courtesy of ABS-CBN Foundation
As she takes on her new role in LCF, Feliciano acknowledged the Lopez Group companies for their unstinting support for the foundation, which was established by her father, Eugenio “Kapitan” Lopez Jr., in 1989. “I’d like to thank the Lopez Group of companies for their steadfast support of the ABS-CBN Foundation. This is never more apparent than when a disaster hits and the need is immediate and often large. It is heartwarming to know that the companies continue to value and fulfill their particular mandates whether it is to be a source of lights in our homes, or the premium spot to live at or shop—all these companies continue to have a beating heart for our fellow Filipino countrymen either through the ABS-CBN Foundation or through their own CSR programs,” she said.
Photo courtesy of ABS-CBN Foundation
Feliciano added: “They say that to do anything, even to the best of our abilities, rings hollow and empty if it is not accompanied by love. At the ABS-CBN Foundation, we truly believe that no matter how big or small your donation, or your effort to help— this small ripple, combined with others, this is where critical mass happens, and this is where hearts and minds do make a positive difference in the world.”
Calma (center) and Transmedia Head Christian Gaite (2nd from right) accept a plaque of appreciation for KFCI’s 25-year membership in the League of Corporate Foundations
Since its establishment in 1991, LCF has been bringing together businesses and corporate foundations in the Philippines, advancing the practice and impact of CSR within its network and outside. AFI was among LCF’s founding members, while KCFI has been with LCF since it was founded 25 years ago.
The 2025 League of Corporate Foundations (LCF) Board of Trustees with outgoing LCF Chairperson Sebastian Quiniones Jr., Executive Director of the Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc. (third from left)
With Calma and Feliciano on the 2025 LCF board of trustees are Shem Jose Garcia, executive director of Vivant Foundation, as chairperson; Ramon Derige, executive director of SEAOIL Foundation Inc., as treasurer; and Philip Dy, executive vice president of Metrobank Foundation Inc., Ryan Vidanes, executive director of Conrado and Ladislawa Foundation Inc., and Austere Panadero, president and executive director of Zuellig Family Foundation Inc., as trustees. Lopez Group companies and foundations have been staples of LCF. As well as AFI and KCFI, these include Energy Development Corporation, Lopez Group Foundation Inc. and, more recently, Oscar M. Lopez Center which was inducted into LCF in 2024.
Support the Knowledge Channel Foundation Inc. today by donating through BPI Acct. No. 0201-0409-14 or GCash via QR. After donating, kindly email a copy of the deposit slip to info@knowledgechannel.org for recording purposes. For more details, contact Ms. Liberty Reyes, Resource Mobilization Manager, at liberty.reyes@knowledgechannel.org.
To learn more about the League of Corporate Foundations, visit lcf.org.ph.
For Knowledge Channel Foundation on Lopez Link - February 2025.