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Philippine graphic artists and designers back Efren Peñaflorida for CNN Hero of the Year

No, he’s not running for president, and he is not making any promises.  He simply takes action, where most needed.  That is a hero, not a politician.  When politicians are two a penny, real heroes are a rare find. CNN Hero of the Year is a welcome rally to those whose efforts are unsung.

The Philippines’ own Efren Peñaflorida is in the running.  Growing up bullied by high school gangs, the 28-year-old Peñaflorida now channels his energies through Dynamic Teen Company, his pushcart schools run by teenagers.  His M.O. is two-pronged.  In the last 12 years, teenagers are exposed to positive action, taking them off the company of street gangs; and in turn young kids learn their ABCs and then some.   Ammunition against ignorance.   Yes, it may be little, but not necessarily too late.

Enter the Philippine Design Movement, champions of Peñaflorida’s pushcart class.  And much like their hero’s pushcart, the group is peddling education, of sorts.   Philippine Design Movement is the use of creative images to initiate a sense of community, enough to ignite real national change.

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Spun by Jowee Alviar of Team Manila, the movement serves as a hub where, “Designers, artists and even writers do exactly what they did but on a grander, more continual scale. The movement dares them to imagine what a steady stream of positive, nation-building images can do for the Philippine society.”

Philippine Design Movement is “a space for the exchange and outlet of ideas that can generate, multiply and breed in Filipinos a culture of intentionally elevated pride and heightened nationalism..,” the site continues.

While it is rare for peaceful, uncontested elections the world over, it does not take a minute to vote for the CNN Hero of the Year, and the public is assured the absence of bloodshed.

Like most of Alviar’s creations, this latest baby is also a marriage of art and mission.  Known too, for successful business ventures, should Alviar’s lucrative streak rub off their on their champ, Efren Peñaflorida may just be CNN Hero of the Year. 

Deadline for votes is Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 6 a.m. ET.

Partner with adobo Magazine

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