Facebook taps youth sector to promote digital media

MANILA, Philippines — Social media company Facebook has tapped Filipino youth organizations to promote digital media literacy and other social impact projects in the age of information technology.

Five initiatives were chosen from the shortlisted projects presented during the digital youth summit organized by Facebook Philippines and Mano Amiga last week.

The selected projects, aimed to address issues that range from the spread of fake news to violent extremism in Mindanao, will receive cash prizes, webinars and mentoring to help them grow their advocacies online and offline. 

“Our goal has always been to empower the Filipino youth to build a safe and informed online community,” said Facebook’s director for community affairs in Asia Pacific Clair Deevy.

“Through the summit, we want to give the youth opportunities to learn more about available tools for designing and promoting their advocacy and creating greater impact for their communities online and offline,” she added.

Among the selected initiatives were the #TheSMLProject of the Development Communication Society of Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro. SML, which could stand for social media literacy and “so much love” in millennial speak, aims to put an end to the spread of fake news and hate speech online by promoting responsible social media consumption and content creation.

Also selected is I Am Mindanao, a social media, marketing and mobilization campaign that aims to address violent extremism and promote lasting peace in southern Philippines. It seeks to educate young people about the dangers of violent extremism; strengthen their sense of identity, belongingness, purpose and pride as Mindanaoans; and empower them to actively partake in efforts that counter violent extremism. 

Initiated by the Association of Youth Environmental Journalists, Camp SEWI or Students Environmental Writing Initiative aims to organize capacity building programs on environmental journalism in Dumaguete City. Its vision is to bolster the conversation on environmental issues in the campus and community newspapers by encouraging a more extensive coverage of environmental stories through youth engagement. 

Involved in different kinds of community engagement activities geared towards addressing the needs of disadvantaged groups and persons with disabilities, Project SMILE seeks to provide support to marginalized communities from different backgrounds.

Meanwhile, Project Saysay aims to spread the ideals and values of the country’s forbears. It envisions to be a disseminator of timelessly relevant, useful and inspiring information sourced from history.