Nickel Asia Corporation and CANVAS raise awareness on climate change through #AralLakbay program
Participants of #AralLakbay pose behind the Sangviaje mural
Manila, Philippines—The Center for Art, New Ventures, and Sustainable Development (CANVAS) and Nickel Asia Corporation (NAC) partnered for #AralLakbay, an NAC-led initiative that combines the power of storytelling, art, and history through educational talks. Held on 6 September 2025 at Galleries XXV–XXVI of the National Museum of Fine Arts, the first installment of #AralLakbay focused on climate change.
Children of NAC Group employees participated in a discussion on climate change with Dr. Alyssa Peleo-Alampay, PhD, author of CANVAS book I am the Change in Climate Change. Kids aged seven to eighteen joined the educational talk and tour hosted in Twenty Years of Art and Stories, CANVAS’ 20th anniversary exhibition.
JB Baylon, NAC Senior Vice President for Sustainability, Risk, Corporate Affairs, and Corporate Communications opens the program
The program started with a short message from JB Baylon, NAC Senior Vice President for Sustainability, Risk, Corporate Affairs, and Corporate Communications. “Our founder, Manuel B. Zamora, believes in the importance of education. He said that it is the greatest equalizer for it gives people a chance to improve their lives and their families. When we learned that CANVAS PH is turning artworks into books, we thought to partner with them because we share the same values.”
Dr. Alyssa Peleo-Alampay, PhD talks about climate change
Dr. Alyssa Peleo-Alampay, PhD, a UP geologist and professor, introduced various earth science concepts to explain climate change to the kids in attendance. She is also the author of I am the Change in Climate Change, an activity book which was also donated to the kids as part of the day’s activities. This book distribution is part of CANVAS’ One Million Books for One Million Filipino Children program.
Attendees flip through the pages of I am the Change in Climate Change
“We work with writers and artists para mamigay sa mga kabataang nangangailangan ng libro. We have a target of giving away one million books and we have passed the halfway point at 500,000+ books given away, and a lot if it was made possible with supporters like Nickel Asia. We have a literacy crisis in the Philippines, which is what we’re trying to address – to help as many children as possible, not just to read, but to learn to love books,” shared CANVAS Executive Director Gigo Alampay about the organization’s efforts.
After the discussion, a couple of attendees volunteered to read excerpts from the book while everyone read along. They also shared their new knowledge on climate change through the short quiz activity. The program wrapped up with a tour of the exhibit.
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Nickel Asia Corporation (PSE: NIKL) is a diversified natural resources development company in the Philippines, with a portfolio that includes seven operating nickel mines, a 10-percent stake in the Taganito HPAL project, and a rapidly growing renewable energy subsidiary.
A non-profit that works with the creative community to promote literacy and explore national identity, CANVAS publishes award-winning children's stories and donates the books to benefit children in public schools and poor communities throughout the Philippines. Its One Million Books Campaign promotes independent reading and creative thinking in Filipino children, while also exposing them to the best of contemporary Filipino art and literature. Twenty Years of Art and Stories details the organization’s work, from art exhibitions, book publishing and distribution, to partnerships CANVAS has had in the past two decades.
