Guidelines for the RAP@55 Literacy Awards

July 16, 2025

About the Awards

It’s RAP’s 55th birthday!

RAP (Reading Association of the Philippines) has always been at the forefront of efforts to promote literacy nationwide through teacher-training seminars, workshops, and conventions.  As part of its emerald anniversary celebration with the theme, “Advocating Literacy and Addressing Learning Gaps@55,” RAP seeks to award institutions and individuals who have made a major impact on improving our nation’s literacy in local, national, or international contexts.   There will be ten (or fewer) awards that will be chosen by an independent board of judges.   Awardees will be celebrated during the RAP Emerald Conference in November 2025, where they will receive a plaque of recognition.

The decision of the Board of Judges is final.  The Board reserves the right to withdraw any award at any time, if necessary.   

Who is Eligible for the Award?  

Organizations and institutions that have shown exemplary and impactful accomplishments in initiating, advocating, developing, implementing, and evaluating policy, programs, projects, activities, and research that promote literacy for all in the Philippines are eligible.   The initiatives that will be awarded should have been actively and continuously implemented for a minimum of 3 years and were active up until May 30, 2025, or later.  

For individuals, nominees must be Filipino citizens. For institutions, only duly registered institutions in the Philippines may be nominated.  For organizations or projects, only those that are hosted or registered with a Philippine school or LGU are eligible.

  1. Eligibility

The following supporting documents will be requested of each nominator to establish eligibility:

  1. Duration of the Literacy Initiative
  2. A signed letter/memorandum/certification from a higher authority (than that of the nominator), which states the start and end (if any) dates of the continuous literacy initiative. The certification may be executed by the barangay, municipality, educational institution, or equivalent entity.
  3. Any other credible evidence that shows the literacy initiative has been continuously operating for at least three years. The duration of the program/project should be from May 30, 2022 (or earlier) until May 30, 2025 (or later).
  4. Proof of Filipino Nationality of Proponent(s)
  5. For Individuals: Any ID that can prove Filipino citizenship, such as a Birth Certificate, Passport, or Philippine National ID.
  6. Is the Literacy Program/Proponent Registered?
  7. For Groups/Institutions: Proof of registration with at least two (2) government agencies.
  8. Is the Literacy Program/Proponent Hosted by a School/LGU?
  9. Proof of being hosted by a school, if applicable.
  10. Proof of being hosted by an LGU, if applicable.

Criteria for the RAP@55 Award

Evaluators for this literacy award will examine your literacy initiative through various documents that must be submitted in an organized and well-documented manner.  Evidence for each criterion must be accessible.

  1. The Literacy Initiative (40%)

A literacy initiative is a program or set of projects that promote reading and writing skills, readership among individuals or communities, or literacy research.  These initiatives may be implemented in various local, national, or international settings such as schools, communities, or workplaces. It may also address a need or gap in literacy teaching, research, and publications. 

The nomination should clearly describe the literacy program/project. The concept of the literacy initiative should be discussed in detail.  For the first criterion, which is The Literacy Initiative, submit the following: 

  1. program proposals, plans with the purpose, goals, and objectives of the literacy initiative
  2. description, number, and location of actual beneficiaries
  3. implementation procedures, tools, materials, collaborators, and evidence of activities 
  4. administrative arrangements for the literacy initiative.
  1. Effectiveness and Impact of the Literacy Initiative (40%)

Literacy initiatives that are effective and impactful leave a lasting influence on learners and communities, which helps secure success in schools and workplaces.  Effective programs impact literacy outcomes positively.  They improve beneficiaries’ skills in and attitudes towards reading and writing.  The documents to be submitted are :

  1. monitoring and evaluation procedures, tools, and materials
  2. evidence of learning and output
  3. awards for the project (if any)
  4. impact on partners (if any) and collaborators
  5. impact on the lead organization/individual
  1. Sustainability and Scalability (20%)

This criterion is about the potential for long-term viability and expansion.  The project must have the potential for application or use in other locales with similar conditions and have a wide reach among the target cohort of learners/beneficiaries.  This criterion also includes the appropriate mobilization, use, and management of resources and the harnessing of partnerships.  Documents to be submitted are:

  1. budget proposal
  2. budget utilization reports/project financial reports
  3. partnership building and proof of partners’ engagement with the project   (if any)
  4. resource mobilization methods and results.

The nominator may also submit documents, pictures, videos, and other significant evidence about the literacy initiative.

Who May Not Be Nominated?

  1. Previous awardees;
  2. Members of the RAP Board and the Awards Committee, and their relatives;
  3. Persons who have been suspended, reprimanded, or sanctioned for violation of administrative policies, rules, and regulations.  

Who Can Nominate?

  1. Heads of local government units
  2. Heads of duly recognized nongovernmental organizations
  3. Education officials/leaders from universities, colleges, technical institutions, and schools
  4. Any person who has personal knowledge of the veracity of the accomplishments of the nominee/s

Where to Get the Nomination Form?

Nominators have three (3) options for submitting a nomination to RAP:

a.) They may download a Google Docs or PDF version of the RAP@55 Literacy Awards Nomination Form here and here, respectively, after which they can submit a duly accomplished copy of either one of the two to rap55.emerald@gmail.com on or before 15 September 2025.

b.) Alternatively, hard copies postmarked no later than 10 September 2025 may be mailed to Dina Ocampo, Reading Education Area, UP College of Education, Diliman, Quezon City.

c.) Nominators may also fill out a Google Form here and immediately submit it thereafter, with the click of a button, at the end of said form. The same deadline of 15 September 2025 applies to this version of the nomination form as well.

We welcome all types of submissions. Please choose whichever is more convenient.

How to Submit the Nominations and Supporting Documents?

Document requirements enumerated in the eligibility and criteria sections above shall be submitted through a link to a Google Drive that each nominator/nominee will prepare specifically to hold the aforementioned documents for the RAP@55 Literacy Awards. All files must be properly sorted into four (4) main folders. The first folder is assigned to the eligibility requirements, aptly named “Eligibility”. The other three each represent, and are named after, a criterion of this literacy award, namely: “Literacy Initiative,” “Effectiveness and Impact,” and “Sustainability and Scalability.” The documents must also be given proper titles for convenience of the judges who will examine them, either in the form of the document name found in the list (e.g. “Evidence of Learning and Output”) or the corresponding assigned numbering (e.g. “C2”). Please follow the provided list above as a guide for the correct names and proper segregation among the three folders. Sub-folders may be created within the main folders.

The link to the separate Google Drive mentioned above must be provided in the filled-out nomination form per nominee.  Kindly make sure that this Google Drive, along with all folders and uploaded documents within it,  is accessible to all who have access to the link. Please rest assured that only the necessary people involved with the literacy award will be granted access to the link that will be provided. Thank you.       

As previously mentioned, duly accomplished nomination forms, including the link to the prepared Google Drive with complete document requirements, shall be submitted by 15 September 2025 to the following email address: rap55.emerald@gmail.com. Alternatively, hard copies postmarked no later than 10 September 2025 may be mailed to Dina Ocampo, Reading Education Area, UP College of Education, Diliman, Quezon City.

Nomination Form

RAP@55 Literary Awards Nomination Form

In case the nominator chooses to fill up the Google Form version of the nomination form instead, an entry field will be provided within said form wherein the link to the Google Drive for the document requirements may be entered. Once the completed Google Form is submitted, on or before the 15th of September, so too will the Google Drive link be relayed to RAP. Any inquiries pertaining to this award may be forwarded to rap55.emerald@gmail.com.