NCCA calls for nominations for 2014 Young Historian's Prize

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts, through its National Committee on Historical Research Executive Council, is seeking nominations for the 2014 Young Historian’s Prize. The prize recognizes the potential of young scholars on the basis of a single work in the field of history, NCCA said on their website. 

 

Filipinos between 21 to 40 years old are qualified to enter the contest, which is now on its third year. However, Executive Council members and of the National Committee on Historical Research (NCHR) and employees of NCCA are disqualified from submitting entries, the announcement said.

 

In 2012, NCCA awarded two winners, including Janet S. Reguindin, faculty of the Social Sciences department at Miriam College. Reguindin won for her "Si Dioscoro Umali (1917-1992) at ang Kanyang Ambag sa Sektor ng Agrikultura sa Pilipinas." 

 

Umali, a National Scientist, is known as the father of plant breeding in the Philippines. In University of the Philippines Los Baños, students are familiar with his name, because of a number of campus buildings that were named after him, including an auditorium, a park, and two laboratory halls. 

 

“Si DL Umali ang isa sa mga naging pinakatanyag na dekano ng UP College of Agriculture (mas kilala ngayon na UPLB), hindi lamang sa kolehiyo kundi pati na sa labas ng bansa," Reguindin was quoted in a previous report. 

 

In her prize-winning paper, Reguindin wrote how Umali was recognized for his breeding of Mussaenda philippica or Kahoy Dalaga in the 40s. "Mula rito, umusbong ang kaniyang pangalan bilang isang agrikulturista at nakagawa pa ng mga pananaliksik tungkol sa palay, mais, abaka at iba pang prutas,” she wrote.

 

In 2011,  Rolando Mactal, PhD was awarded the Young Historian's prize for his "Kalusugang Pampubliko sa Kolonyal ng Maynila, 1898-1918: Heograpiya, Medisina, Kasaysayan (Public Health in Colonial Manila 1898-1918: Geography, Medicine, History)."

 

"The researcher wishes to contribute to the local history of Manila, particularly in social history and health. In his work, Mactal, a historian, scholar and writer who has garnered several awards, expounds on the state of health of Filipinos during the American colonial period," NCCA said in its 2011 report. 

 

Winners will receive a certificate of recognition and a cash prize of P50,000.

 

Entries must be an original work that contributes to the enrichment of Philippine history and historiography, with single authorship, uses primary sources, and is written in proper academic style. Entries must also have been published or completed within the last three years. 

 

Entries will be evaluated based on topic (15 percent), interpretation (30 percent), data/sources (30 percent, coherence (15 percent), and writing style (10 percent).

 

The deadline of submission is on August 30, 2013.

 

Copies of the Nomination Form may be obtained at the Cultural Heritage Section or may be downloaded at the NCCA website.

 

Nominations may be submitted through ordinary mail to the National Committee on Historical Research, Cultural Heritage Section, Room 5C, 5th Floor, National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), 633 General Luna St., Intramuros, Manila. For inquiries, call NCCA at (02) 527-2192 local 505. - Carmela G. Lapeña / KDM GMA News