Dive into Adventure with the New Vivo Y21d: Tough, Innovative, and Budget-Friendly

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Ready to dive into a season full of adventure? The new Vivo Y21d, priced starting at Php 6,999, is here to prove that unforgettable moments don’t require a flagship price tag. For the first time ever, Vivo’s signature underwater photography feature—once exclusive to its premium V Series—is now made accessible to everyone.

With its impressive IP68 and IP69 certifications, the Vivo Y21d is built to endure any challenge—from underwater escapades to sudden rain showers and accidental spills. It’s a phone made for those who live life on the go, backed by a massive 6500mAh battery that ensures you stay powered throughout your day of adventures.

Adventure Without Limits

Whether you’re diving into the pool, exploring a river, or simply dancing in the rain, the Vivo Y21d’s 50MP HD main camera captures crisp, detailed, and vibrant shots—even underwater. Its dedicated underwater photography mode lets you record memories for up to 30 minutes at a depth of 1.5 meters, allowing you to tell your story from bold new perspectives.

Even when your hands are wet, the fun doesn’t have to stop. Thanks to Wet-Hand Touch Technology, you can continue using your phone seamlessly after a swim or a downpour. Once you’re back on dry land, simply activate the One-Tap Water Ejection feature to safely remove water from the speakers—ensuring your device is always ready for the next adventure.

Tough Enough for Everyday Life

The Vivo Y21d isn’t just for thrill-seekers—it’s also perfect for hardworking Filipinos who face unpredictable weather every day. From delivery riders to outdoor workers, this smartphone’s flagship-level water and dust resistance guarantees reliability in any condition.

With its powerful 6500mAh battery, users can enjoy up to 10 hours of uninterrupted navigation, calls, and productivity. Rain or shine, the Vivo Y21d is made to keep up with your daily grind.

The Perfect Holiday Gift

This holiday season, give the gift of adventure and resilience. The Vivo Y21d combines toughness, innovation, and creativity in one sleek, budget-friendly device. Featuring a 50MP HD main camera, underwater photography mode, IP68 and IP69 durability, and a long-lasting battery, it proves that durability and style don’t have to come at a premium.

Available now at Vivo concept stores and kiosks nationwide, or online. The Vivo Y21d lets you dive into life fearlessly. With Vivo Y21d, adventure never stops—even underwater.

James Dyson Award 2025 Honors Innovations in Sustainability and Health

The James Dyson Award has once again highlighted the power of innovation in solving real-world problems, naming two global winners for 2025 who have each received ₱2,168,000 for their groundbreaking inventions. This year’s winning projects showcase how creativity and technology can merge to advance sustainability and improve the quality of life for people living with medical conditions.

The global Sustainability Winner, WaterSense, was developed by Filip Budny, a PhD candidate in nanotechnology at the Warsaw University of Technology in Poland. WaterSense is an autonomous, AI-powered water-quality monitoring device designed to replace manual, infrequent sampling methods. By providing real-time data and early pollution alerts, the device empowers communities, industries, and governments to respond quickly to contamination issues, ensuring safer and cleaner water systems.

Budny’s innovation addresses one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time—water pollution—by automating monitoring processes that traditionally require time, manpower, and laboratory resources. WaterSense represents a leap forward in sustainability, enabling continuous oversight of water ecosystems while reducing costs and human error.

Meanwhile, the global Medical Winner, OnCue, was created by Alessandra Galli, an Italian product designer and graduate of the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. OnCue is a smart keyboard developed specifically for individuals living with Parkinson’s disease. Unlike traditional assistive keyboards, OnCue integrates therapeutic cues directly into its design, helping users manage symptoms such as tremors and freezing while reducing typing errors.

Galli’s design bridges technology and therapy, offering both functional assistance and psychological support to people with Parkinson’s. The innovative approach transforms a simple daily activity—typing—into a therapeutic exercise that restores confidence and independence.

Both winners embody the spirit of the James Dyson Award, which celebrates young inventors who use engineering and design to solve meaningful problems. By addressing global issues such as environmental sustainability and healthcare access, WaterSense and OnCue demonstrate how human-centered innovation can create real social impact.

As Dyson founder Sir James Dyson often emphasizes, these inventions remind the world that great ideas can come from anyone, anywhere—with the potential to make life better for everyone.

‘Train Your Brain’: BrainRx Philippines Showcases Science-Based Solutions to Unlock Children’s Learning Potential

Metro Manila — Parents seeking deeper solutions for their children’s learning challenges—specifically to improve focus, memory, and comprehension have a powerful option to consider. BrainRx Learning Plus, Inc., known as BrainRx Philippines, showcased its one-on-one brain training program during the "Train Your Brain" learning event, positioning it as a transformative approach for intervention and enrichment.

BrainRx Philippines' co-founders explained that the brain training is designed to strengthen how the brain learns, unlike traditional tutoring, which re-teaches information. This approach is founded on neuroplasticity—the brain's ability to adapt and rewire. Instead of just teaching information, professional trainers use intense, targeted, and game-like procedures to stretch a student’s mental capacity. This strengthens the seven core cognitive skills used for learning and daily life, enabling students to process information more efficiently.

"As Director for Training, I witness students’ transformations daily," said Mel L. Sua, Co-founder of BrainRx Philippines. "Our system's unique features, like immediate feedback and targeted intensity, are managed by the trainer to set up the right environment for students to grow. Something in the brain just clicks, and there is nothing more fulfilling than seeing the 'light bulb moment' in every student-trainer interaction, when the students become more confident in their learning and problem-solving.”

Held at The Yard, BGC, the event guests received a taste of brain training through interactive activity booths highlighting the importance of cognitive skills. This was complemented by an exclusive post-event media tour of the BrainRx Philippines center, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the approaches the center uses to improve the learning abilities of its clients.

Founded 13 years ago, BrainRx Learning Plus has expanded its reach to more families through its customized brain training delivered through the BrainRx suite of programs developed by LearningRx USA, the world’s largest one-on-one brain training company. For educators and parents aiming for quality, holistic learning, Co-founder and Center Director Joy S. Go invites them to search for root causes of learning challenges they are observing. “Because each brain and cognitive profile is different, how well students absorb and process information also varies, so we need to go beyond cookie-cutter methods in addressing learning and performance concerns that are not resolving. A cognitive skills assessment at our center shows how strong or weak a student’s cognitive skills are and how these impact learning,” Go shared.

The event’s "Real Impact, Real Stories" panel featured powerful testimonials from parents whose neurotypical and neurodivergent kids were helped by BrainRx Learning Plus. Panelists included Cyril Addison (Deli by Chele) with wife Pierre (Hospitality Consultant), Gen Enriquez-Gerodias (Expedise PH), Christine Dychiao (Tidying Consultant), and Darlene Uy (Nestlé Philippines Inc.) with teen daughter Alexandrine. They shared how the center’s brain training provided the ‘missing link’ to unlock their children’s potential, helping them address gaps in learning and performance to become more focused, confident, and attentive learners, an experience also shared by host RJ Ledesma.

For Andy and Pooneh Roney, Global Leads of BrainRx, whose programs are available in over 120 centers across 40+ countries, the vision is to transform how the world learns by using cutting-edge research and technology to strengthen cognitive skills and address the root causes of learning challenges. Their commitment to empowering passionate individuals to bring this transformation to their own communities was echoed by Joy S. Go and Mel L. Sua, who closed the event with a call for change-makers and entrepreneurs to offer BrainRx brain training in major cities nationwide.

“Mel and Joy embody the spirit and excellence of BrainRx. Since opening their first centre in 2012, they have demonstrated unwavering dedication, professionalism, and a deep commitment to transforming lives through cognitive training. Their journey led them to become the Master Developers for the Philippines in 2019, where they have continued to set the standard for quality and integrity. With their strong leadership, high standards, and genuine investment in their team, Mel and Joy have built a culture of excellence that reflects everything BrainRx stands for. We are proud to work alongside them and deeply value their contribution to the global BrainRx family,” said Pooneh Roney.

Joy S. Go concluded, "We have the power to ‘change our brains’. We’re not born with a fixed set of brain skills. We can go beyond perceived limits and labels.”

The ‘Train Your Brain’ learning event thus reinforced BrainRx's core mission: providing tangible, life-changing solutions for parents who want their children to reach their full potential as learners.

YGG Play Summit 2025 “City of Play” Expands Skill District to Power the Philippines’ Digital Workforce

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - In the lead-up to its 2025 edition, the YGG Play Summit has revealed a major expansion of the Skill District, the learning hub within its City of Play experience. Designed by Metaversity, the educational arm of YGG Pilipinas, the district offers an immersive upskilling experience to uncover earning opportunities across Web3 and AI. Visitors can join workshops that teach practical, job-oriented skills for the digital economy in content creation, marketing, community management, game development, and more.

The Skill District is one of four themed zones in the City of Play alongside the Player District, Degen District, and The Arena. Three new experiences have been added: The Prompt to Prototype vibe coding workshop will teach aspiring builders how to create games using AI. The Metaversity Interactive forum will gather stakeholders across industry, government, and academe to work with students to address critical skills gaps in the emerging tech workforce. Finally, Metaverse Filipino Worker (MFW) City — the pioneering builder residency led by YGG Pilipinas and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) — will unveil the results of its pilot program to educate developers from the MIMAROPA region in the Sui blockchain’s Move programming language.

“This collaboration truly reflects the core of our DICT thrust in Digital Bayanihan, showcasing how industries, communities, and the government can work together to empower talent across all regions of the country,” said DICT MIMAROPA Regional Director Emmy Lou Versoza-Delfin. “Aligned with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directives to create more jobs for Filipinos and Secretary Henry Aguda’s commitment to generate more digital and digitally enabled employment opportunities through our Trabahong Digital Program, initiatives such as MFW City in Puerto Princesa and the Skill District at YGG Play Summit are creating pathways for Filipinos to actively participate in the global digital economy. These efforts bring us closer to a future where Filipinos can build transformative, sustainable, and rewarding careers without having to leave the comfort of their own homes.”

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 identifies technology as the dominant force reshaping the global labor market, driving both job creation and displacement. Expanding digital access alone is expected to generate 19 million new roles while rendering 9 million obsolete. AI and information processing technology are forecasted to create 11 million jobs while displacing 9 million. For the Philippines, this underscores the urgent need to develop digital fluency and technical capabilities, so workers can seize opportunities instead of being left behind by automation.

Official school partner STI College - Bonifacio Global City will participate in the Skill District alongside IT, computer science, and esports organizations from more than 10 schools across different regions of the country, including:

• University of Santo Tomas
• National University
• Polytechnic University of the Philippines
• University of Southeastern Philippines - Davao City
• Philippine Christian University - Cavite

Upskilling the Next Generation of Filipino Builders

With Sui providing primary sponsorship as its anchor partner, the Skill District will feature three key sessions offering unique opportunities for skills development:

MFW City, a regional builder residency co-created by YGG Pilipinas and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), brought together more than 120 developers in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, to learn the Sui blockchain’s programming language, Move. As part of the Sui Builder Program initiative under the MFW City program, participants received mentorship from industry experts and built minimum viable products on the Sui blockchain. On November 21, two graduates will join James Wing, Head of Strategic Partnerships and Investments at Mysten Labs, developers of Sui, on the Summit main stage to share a first look at the results of the pioneering program and explain how the initiative is opening new pathways for Filipino talent in the provinces.

Metaversity Interactive will bring together industry leaders, government representatives, members of the academe, and Metaversity students to map the Philippines’ emerging tech skills landscape. The session will identify the most in-demand skills sought by global and local employers and assess the readiness of current job candidates across these skills. The resulting data and dialogue will inform the strategic development of future Metaversity programs, ensuring they are aligned with market needs to maximize students’ employability. The forum is scheduled for Friday, November 21.

Prompt to Prototype is a 4-hour vibe coding workshop where up to 50 attendees will learn how to turn their game concepts into playable prototypes using AI-powered, no-code tools. Participants will gain hands-on experience using infrastructure by B3, a Layer-3 open gaming ecosystem built on Base, and AI tools from OpenxAI, a P2P permissionless AI protocol. Sponsored by Base, the session will be led by Base Philippines’ Developer Relations Lead Ambassador, who will teach attendees how to use these tools and serve as a mentor throughout the process. The workshop will take place at 11 AM on Saturday, November 22.

“The YGG Play Summit’s Skill District is where learning meets play for those seeking actionable pathways into the digital economy. Anyone looking to level up their career or personal growth will find opportunities to gain in-demand skills that lead to real jobs. Through our programs, we aim to help Filipinos prepare for the future job market and ensure our communities are not just keeping up but leading the way,” said Mench Dizon, Country Head of YGG Pilipinas.

More Highlights Ahead at YGG Play Summit

Aside from the Skill District events, esports tournaments in the trading card games Parallel, Vibes, and Might & Magic: Fates will be held at The Arena on November 20-21, with a combined prize pool of US$125,000.

Industry leaders will also take the stage for panels, fireside chats, and keynotes. Speakers include Mench Dizon of YGG Pilipinas, Sylvain Loe Mie of Ubisoft, Luke Barwikowski and Heidi Christine of Pixels, Theo Agranat of Gunzilla Games, TK of Spekter Games, Jihoz of Sky Mavis, Kohji Nagata of Parallel, Roby John of SuperGaming, Hantao of Moku, Alessia Baumgartner of DWF Labs, Shi Khai Wei of LongHash Ventures, Daryl Lim of TRIVE Digital, Oliver Maroney of OpenSea, Wei Zhou of Coins.ph, and Joony Koo of AO Labs.

Summit sponsors this year include game studios Sky Mavis, Aurory, Pixels, Parallel TCG, and Vibes TCG; the Layer-1 blockchain Sui; creative powerhouse Spekter Agency; Web3 investment firm DWF Labs; and Philippine crypto exchange Coins.ph.

Set to run from November 19 to 22, 2025, YGG Play Summit returns to SMX Aura, Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Metro Manila, Philippines. Tickets and the full event agenda are available on the YGG Play Summit website at yggplaysummit.com.

Plan International Pilipinas and Quezon City Government Unite to #StandWithGirls

Metro Manila — Plan International Pilipinas and the Quezon City Government, through the Quezon City Gender and Development Council Office, launched a collaborative partnership to champion the rights of girls and young women amid some of today’s most pressing challenges: climate crisis and disasters, online harm, and barriers to inclusive quality education, entrepreneurship, and decent employment.

The initiative is part of Plan International Pilipinas’ national campaign for the 2025 International Day of the Girl (IDG), #StandWithGirls, which calls for collective action to advance policies, programs, and investments for girls’ futures and to enable their participation in spaces where decisions about their lives are made.

“Every day, young women across the country are forced to navigate challenges that threaten their safety, silence their voices, and limit their potential,” said Plan International Pilipinas Executive Director Pebbles Sanchez-Ogang.

“By working with the Quezon City Government under the leadership of Mayor Joy Belmonte, a long-time ally in advancing gender-responsive and child-centered governance, we are ensuring that their voices are heard where it matters most. We will keep pushing boundaries until every young Filipina can learn, lead, decide, be resilient, and thrive,” she added.

Quezon City continues to lead with landmark programs that empower and protect girls and young women. Under its Gender and Development (GAD) framework, the city implements a holistic Cycle of Care for Adolescent Girls—including menstrual health education through Period Talk for Teens and the Batang Ina Summit for young mothers—while ensuring safe spaces through the Anti-OSAEC ordinance, the QC VAW Centralized Databank, and rescue operations under Task Forces Sampaguita and Magdalena.

The Youth Development Office also expands access to scholarships, skills training, and livelihood through Pangkabuhayang QC, Be Your Own Boss, and the Digital Beauty Academy, complemented by youth engagement programs such as GAD for Youth and M.O.V.E. (Men Opposed to Violence Against Women Everywhere).

“When girls are safe, educated, and empowered, an entire city rises with them,” said Mayor Joy Belmonte. “As long as I am Mayor, our girls will always have an ally, a protector, and a champion in me.”

The #StandWithGirls campaign reached a major milestone with the Girls Summit held today, October 30, bringing together more than 400 young women leaders from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The summit served as a platform for girls to present their recommendations through a Girls’ Agenda—a list of priority issues they want government, civil society, and the private sector to address—and to launch the National Girls’ Network, a youth-led coalition that will continue advancing girls’ rights and advocacy beyond the event.

“The Girls’ Agenda gives us a voice to speak up about what really matters to us. And with the National Girls’ Network, we’re not just sharing our ideas, we’re working together to make change happen for all girls in the Philippines,” said Hannah, 18.

Mayor Belmonte delivered the welcome address, reaffirming Quezon City’s ongoing efforts to make policies and programs more responsive to the needs of girls and young women.

Panel discussions throughout the summit explored pressing themes such as online safety, resilience in crises, and economic empowerment. Among the notable speakers were Christian Halaas Lyster, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to the Philippines; Rachel Ann Herrera, Commissioner of the Climate Change Commission; and Nimisha Jain, Country Manager of Beiersdorf Philippines, along with other distinguished leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector.

The Girls’ Agenda was formally received by Undersecretary Angelo Tapales, Executive Director of the Council for the Welfare of Children, and Joseph Ortega, Chairperson of the National Youth Commission.

The Girls Summit builds on a series of nationwide activities for the International Day of the Girl, including youth-led symposiums and Girls Takeovers across the country. In Quezon City, girls took over the offices of 2nd District Councilor Aly Medalla and 6th District Councilor Ellie Juan.