“If the measure of council success is organization success, then I don’t know how much more successful a council could be.” This was how Council of Organizations of the Ateneo (COA) President Kenneth Abante described the performance of the 49 student organizations under his watch during the State of the Council Address (SOCA) last November 23 in the Leong Hall auditorium.

The SOCA is a yearly event held by COA to highlight the successes and achievements of the different student organizations under its nine clusters. It is also an opportunity to discuss plans for the remainder of the school year.

Abante’s speech highlighted five themes and lauded organizations that stood out in each theme: award-winning COA orgs, external networking, organizations for others, flourishing arts and humanities and organizers of national and international conferences. Abante also congratulated each organization for reporting positive growth and building on their core competencies, adding that their hard work has kept the org culture vibrant in the Loyola Schools. He also noted that 92.3% of the student population belongs to at least one organization.

Citing his vision to create a culture of transparency within the council, Abante attributed COA’s success to the efforts of each organization president, cluster head, and secretary-treasurer. He emphasized the importance of consultation and representation, saying that COA held a seven-phase consultation process and around 220 meetings with organization representatives.

Sanggunian President Drew Copuyoc also praised the various programs and initiatives that COA and the Sanggunian have accomplished together. Copuyoc cited the success of the Rally for Good Governance and the participation of COA members in the Students Rights and Welfare bill initiative of the Sanggunian, among others.

Abante said that COA’s next step is to improve community formation, leader formation and sustainable transition within organizations. The council has been meeting with De La Salle University’s Council of Student Organizations and other councils from different universities to discuss effective strategies. Abante added that several studies have been conducted to improve COA’s performance, such as the council’s study on Financial Processes and an evaluation of the Performance Management System.