I Am Blogie

The most underrepresented sector of society is, undoubtedly, the youth. Even though the youth are hailed by many as the future of our country, very few actually take the time to listen to them. On the other hand, one reason for this might be the perceived apathy among the country’s high school and university students. Whichever it may be, all is not lost because there are youth groups around the country who do participate gainfully in society. One of them is Voice of Mindanao (VoM), a youth organization based in Zamboanga City that “not only supports peace advocacy, but encourages the youth to express themselves towards the direction of a peaceful Mindanao.”

VoM is hosting a Mindanao-wide activity aimed at the young men and women of Southern Philippines: a ‘contest’ where the prizes are fulfillment and renewed hope that the national leadership will listen more intently to the voices from the deep South. “Dear P-Noy” is a letter-writing contest open to all youngsters (for the purposes of this activity, 11 to 18 years old) who are living in Mindanao. The letter-writer must express to President Aquino what his/her thoughts or ideas are in terms of making their future a brighter prospect under his presidency.

Please read about the “Dear P-Noy” contest mechanics on the VoM blog.

Take note: the winning letter will be read by the President himself on the 20th of August 2010, during the celebration of Ninoy Aquino’s death anniversary.

I’d like to urge you, dear reader, to encourage your children, nephews / nieces, younger cousins, or any youngster under your care to participate in this worthy undertaking. The whole effort will not only give voice to Mindanao’s calls for peace, development and understanding, it will also teach a valuable lesson to young Mindanaoans. Being part of VoM’s laudable project will teach them about being an active member of society, and about the value of free expression and what it can bring about for their future.

The Mindanao Economic Development Council (Medco) organized last 26-27 November in Davao City a forum for government, media and citizen communicators, for peace initiatives in Mindanao. This was done through Medco’s Mindanao Information Network for Development and Peace, or MINDPeace.

It was a well-represented group of concerned parties: there were delegates from mainstream media, non-traditional media outfits such as Mindanao Film & Television Development Foundation, government agencies, the Armed Forces, and from church and civic organizations. The objectives centered around how various entities communicated “Mindanao” to the rest of the world, and what could be achieved to improve this. Much like what was accomplished — or tried to — at Media Nation a few years back. But this time, the initiative came from Mindanaoans.

Supported by the Action for Conflict Transformation (ACT) for Peace Programme, the forum is also seen as a knowledge-sharing venue expected to gather communication practitioners of the various development programs in Mindanao and partner organizations working for Mindanao peace and development, as well as representatives of alternative media, such as bloggers and filmmakers in Mindanao.
(Source: Medco)

I was able to present the purpose and goals of the Mindanao Bloggers Community, and to interface with other organizations, such as Click Mindanao and the Young Moro Professionals Network for possible sharing of ideas and cooperation in joint projects in the foreseeable future.

Although the forum had been in the pipeline for sometime, it came at the heels of the Maguindanao massacre. And it was timely in that it addressed a pressing need to educate the rest of the nation’s communicators in the way they reported on Mindanao issues. In my view, I saw a somewhat more responsible national media — although there were hiccups, such as when a popular broadsheet printed “the lawless Mindanao island” — in its reportage of the mass murders in Ampatuan, Maguindanao.

If the forum participants strive to forge on and see the goals through, the MINDPeace forum can be instrumental in influencing the way Mindanao is perceived from now on. There is a very big danger that the efforts of the MB Community and other like-minded groups in presenting a more holistic view of Mindanao, will go down the drain due to the senseless and deplorable crime committed in Maguindanao Province. But if we persevere, we’ll have a good chance of preventing another mass misconception of Mindanao’s image.

But more than that, the communicators’ forum was meant to be a significant contributing factor “to the ongoing formulation of the Mindanao 2020 Peace and Development Framework Plan, with emphasis on the role of media and communication, to setting the direction for Mindanao in the next decade.”

The MB Community, for its part, will certainly contribute actively to this effort towards peace and development in Mindanao.

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.