I Am Blogie

I was very happy to have visited — at long last! — Asia’s Latin City (from 17 to 20 October), and to have touched base with the bloggers of Zamboanga. I’d already met some of them online (and two of them ‘offline’ during the 2nd Mindanao Bloggers Summit last year), but seeing them all together in their own milieu was most gratifying.

The Zambo bloggers started becoming active and participatory in the Mindanao Bloggers Community around last year. They even sent tentative feelers to the MB core group as to the possibility of their hosting MBS3. This is a clear indication that they could very well be prepared for the opportunity to host the 4th Summit next year…

Present during the meet-up at the Country Food & Tea House (excellent choices of loose-leaf tea, by the way) were Yolynne, Ryann, Jerome, Pics, Jet, James (aka “John Lazy”), Cedric, and others. Some of those who came had never before met their fellow Zamboangueño bloggers. And this is why I found the meet-up gratifiying: because there is an apparent willingness to strengthen the local bloggers’ group in Zamboanga.

I was also able to meet a couple of Tausug bloggers, and they told us that they have a very active group of about 50, and they blog about Moro and Muslim topics, among others. Getting to know them, especially Nur Danial, was an eye opener for me, and has made my resolve to broaden the scope of the Mindanao Bloggers Community even stronger.

We’ll hear more about what’s been going on with the bloggers of Zamboanga Peninsula from Ryann Elumba, who will deliver a report at MBS3. Ryann is the blogger behind Hola Zamboanga!, and the one who designed the creatives for MBS2.

Last 19 October, I also went to Isabela City, Basilan. Another first for me! I’d like to express my gratitude to Yolynne for introducing me to RJ Ian, who took the entire day off on a Monday to show me his beautiful city. Thanks to RJ, I was able to visit some schools in Isabela and encourage high school and college students to take up blogging. We certainly need more man-on-the-street accounts of what’s really happening on the much-maligned island of Basilan.

I’ll certainly make a trip to the Zamboanga Peninsula again soon and, God willing, for a much longer stay. I’d love to be able to visit Pagadian and Ipil, as well as other places in Basilan Province. I’ve visited Dapitan and Dipolog back in 1996, but going back to those places to get acquainted with the bloggers there is on my priority list.

Muchas gracias, amigos de Zamboanga!

The Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), through its Southeast Asian regional secretariat, Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID), has launched a worthy program that is very much in line with what the Mindanao Bloggers Community stands for: iBlogforPeace.

“iBlogforPeace seeks to broaden the discourse on peace by providing an online platform for civil society, particularly the unorganized and the bloggers community, to take part in the conversations in their own contexts and engage in dialogues with kindred individuals and groups such as peace advocates. It hopes to help influence and change dominant public opinion and culture skewed towards armed and violent resolutions of conflicts and convey the urgency of fostering a culture where peace can thrive.”

Mainstream media, in struggling with the balance between fair reporting and “entertainment value”, fails time and again in portraying the whole truth when it comes to Mindanao issues. This is especially true when it comes to news coverage about conflict between Muslims and Christians, government forces and rebels, etc. This was the main point of discussion during MediaNation 5.2, to which I was invited to contribute my thoughts. MediaNation is an annual conference participated in by the country’s distinguished tri-media industry decision-makers.

Bloggers, through their down-to-earth and man-on-the-street reportage, are viewed as potential providers of the much-needed balance.

The objectives which led to the formation of the Mindanao Bloggers Community coincide with the objectives of iBlogforPeace. Thus, IID has invited MBC to be a partner in the iBlogforPeace initiative. Together, a greater awareness of the real issues — and hopefully, the real solutions — might be achieved.

Please help spread the word. You, the blogger, may take part by actively writing about peace, and about iBlogforPeace. You could also display the iBlogforPeace badge on your blog. When more people become mindful of peace initiatives and join discussions with a growing number of concerned individuals, sustainable progress in communities and self-determination of peoples will have a chance at last.

Ever since the 1st Mindanao Bloggers Summit in October 2007, I’ve seen various bloggers’ groups sprout in different parts of Mindanao. Back then, there were groups in Davao and in Cagayan de Oro. Then General Santos, inspired by the Summit and by the activities of MindanaoBloggers.com, also got themselves and organized and were successful in their hosting of the 2nd Summit.

Now, Zamboanga City is seeing her bloggers become more cohesive, through the leadership of Yolynne Medina, Ryann Elumba and Jerome Locson (who went to GenSan to attend the MBS2). They’ve had a few meet-ups already, and hopefully I’ll be able to join in one of their future get-togethers.

Cagayan de Oro City, as well, is back on track. Two years ago, they had an informal group already, but it fell by the wayside after the prominent members left for Manila and Cebu for work. But now, under the care of ChiQ Montes, they’re starting to form a stronger community. They even have their own Ning.com site: CDO Bloggers.

So, MBS3 will be a toss-up between Zamboanga and Cagayan de Oro. I shall announce the decision before the year ends.

I hope that more cities and/or provinces in Mindanao will have their own active bloggers’ groups. This will not only help us achieve our goal of projecting the real images of Mindanao onto the world stage, but also create an atmosphere of harmony and cooperation among Mindanaoans.