The year 2015 marks the launching of the First Galing Pook Citizenship Award. The program searches for, identifies, recognizes and promotes the initiatives of individuals and civil society organizations who keep making good in the midst of continuing controversies in the government, socio-economic difficulties that beset not only the Philippines, and the development challenges brought about by the adverse effects of climate change. These are the individuals and organizations working with the grassroots who continue to discover opportunities within the existing democratic institutions and venues; who creatively find, utilize and mobilize wealth from available resources; and who keep producing and adding more values for social good, with and for the people and the communities they work with.

Best practices and lessons from outstanding individuals and civil society organizations need to get through to even more communities, development workers, local governments and to every level of public institutions in the country particularly among the duty bearers and policy makers. Harvesting the lessons in the productive engagement of the citizenry and the government from the civil society sector will be made more effective through the Galing Pook Citizenship Award. This particular award program supports and builds on the core thrust of the Galing Pook Foundation of promoting good governance.

At the local level most particularly, the adoption of model practices in community development by the civil society sector will be heightened resulting to more positive qualitative and quantitative impacts. The Galing Pook Foundation is able to search for and recognize outstanding LGUs and public leaders. It further seeks to complement this thrust with the harvest of knowledge products when it comes to civil society organizations and champions promoting effective people’s participation. It is of strategic importance for these outstanding individuals and civil society organizations who can provide wealth of practical insights, strategies and innovative solutions—addressing common concerns on the local economy, health of the people, environmental degradation, declining agricultural conditions in the face of unsustainable lifestyles, among others—to get noticed, recognized and their work documented and brought into the mainstream information channels.