We live online, now more than ever. The pandemic has forced us inside our homes and much of the world is now reflected solely through black mirrors. The use of social media has gravely increased since the quarantine and this online space only continues to grow in application, population, and possibilities.
One noticeable phenomena that has occurred is the rise of youth organizations. Since the quarantine began, a myriad of youth groups have emerged catering to various communities and advocacies and marred with good intentions. Buzz words such as "youth-run", "youth empowerment", and "spreading awareness" have been ubiquitous in all social media platforms. Although this may be indicative of the youth being more engaged with societal issues, what remains to be clear is the feasibility of organizing youth groups toward certain causes. It only takes a few individuals and a few clicks to get a Facebook page running. Eight months into the quarantine and a lot of these groups have already gone idle or are barely operational. This only proves Claudia Janssen Danyi and Vidhi Chaudhri's point that "maintaining and implementing effective social media communication, however, takes time, commitment, and knowledge (2020)." Sustaining a youth organization, especially those birthed online, require strategic communication.
That being said, I draw my realizations both as a Communication for Development student and as a leader in a youth organization that has managed to effectively sustain its online presence. For much of my generation, whether there is a pandemic or not, we have lived more or less online and on the line. Curating content has been a tedious and critical process and the same goes for organizations. With the onslaught of cancel culture and the so-called 'woke' morality, communicating correctly and carefully has never been more imperative. Such propriety is not only extended to content but as well as non-human actors such as algorithms.
According to Oana Brindusa Albu and Michael Andreas Etter (2020), the approach towards social media has always been anthropocentric in that we control technology. The Affordance theory argues that this technology, such as Social Media, only 'affords' us control and influence. We have limited control over algorithms and how varied human interactions online coincide with non-human interactions. In other words, it takes a whole life of its own online. It is then integral for organizations to be aware of such interactions and take advantage of these algorithms to optimize their reach. It becomes a matter of precariously using the right hashtags down to capitalization so as to be part of the conversation and be afforded a gateway into the wider network of conversations.
Truly even in the online setting, communication is not limited to verbal transactions but as well as non-verbal ones and the information highway is filled with them. This further emphasizes the need for a well-crafted communication strategy plan if an organization is to find success and be sustainable. Granted that I myself am involved in creating a communication strategy plan for our partner organization, Project Lumad, the aforementioned points should inform our plan specifically our social media campaign and branding plan. Project Lumad rests on a mountain of possibilities and must be trekked on a tightrope while still juggling to be creative and innovative. It is no easy task hence a well-informed plan is required.
--
Albu, O.B. and Etter, M.A., 2018. How Social Media Mashups Enable and Constrain Online Activism of Civil Society Organizations. Handbook of Communication for Development and Social Change, pp.1-19.
Danyi, C.J. and Chaudhri, V., 2018. Strategic Social Media Management for NGOs. Handbook of Communication for Development and Social Change, p.911.
In spite of a four-year reign of terror, President Rodrigo Duterte has managed to increase his trust rating to 91%. Unbelievable? Not quite, according to esteemed sociologist Walden Bello who cites Duterte's novel fascism as the culprit. Duterte has harnessed the personal resentment and fears of the masses and redirected these toward anyone he tags as 'drug pushers', 'dilawans', ‘communists’ or ‘terrorists’. Unfortunately, the terrorist tag has been attached to a bunch of kids who simply want to study — the students of the Lumad Bakwit Schools.
These students have been chased out of their lands with gunfire and explosions — atrocities justified as acts against terrorism. Duterte claims that community schools are hotbeds of subversion and communism. It may be that Duterte is afraid that the Lumad would form a strong opposition against him — even more so if they are educated. He instills fear in the Lumad to alleviate his own through bloodshed and displacement. His fear may make him believe that a scattered and struggling Lumad population would be disinclined to organize.
However, the Lumad have proven resilient. Despite the threats of bombing and unnerving trauma, they persist. “Our bakwit schools were built as an answer to Duterte’s threat of bombing our alternative schools in Mindanao” says Rius Valle, Spokesperson for Save Our Schools Network. Bakwit schools continue to be erected across the country not only to forward Lumad education but to rally support as well for their cause.
Herein lies my own fear: that, ripped from their lands and communities and surviving on the bare minimum, the Lumad would lose their identity and stop fighting. “Iniisip ko kasi ‘yung mga ancestor namin dinedepensahan talaga nila ‘yung lupang ninuno. Eh kung sa aming henerasyon hindi namin dedepensahan, paano na ‘yung susunod na henerasyon? Paano na ‘yung mga anak namin, mga anak ng anak namin? ‘Yun ‘yung iniisip ko. Pati kung paano ipreserba ‘yung kultura. Kasi unti-unti na siyang nawawala.” Rorelyn, an 18-year old student in the UP Diliman Lumad Bakwit school, shares her concerns. The fight for Lumad education will always be intertwined with their fight for their land and their culture. The three legs of Lumad education, namely agriculture, academics, and health, continue to be undermined. How then can they pursue these when they are always on the run, their teachers are targeted with violence, and they survive on the bare minimum?
Thus, there is a need to satisfy their needs and enable them to empower themselves to sustain the fight. We must recognize their existing strength as peoples, acknowledging that the Lumad are Filipinos, deserving of rights and dignity, able to contribute to Philippine development, and qualified to topple the reign of terror of Duterte and other future fascists.
It was over a year ago when we launched Project Lumad. I believe it was March 2019 when DMCA started planning. Wide-eyed youth we were, giddy over a Mind Museum grant. We were still grappling with our structure but our potential was undeniable which only made the impetus to pursue the project more contagious. We were relentless and the goal was clear — to promote quality education for the Lumad students. We badly wanted to give them that museum trip as our graduation gift before they fly home. And we did.
Fast forward to March of this year, 2020. The pandemic needs no introduction as it has rendered us at a standstill with our hopes of expanding the trip for this year slashed. Again, DMCA was relentless and has since grappled with its structure to become a donation drive after recognizing how these internally displaced Lumad students are more vulnerable to the pandemic and its subsequent effects. The goal is still the same — to promote quality education for Lumad students but this time through supporting the Bakwit school and its operational needs such as basic goods. With the initial goal of raising PHP 47,000 distributed through four waves of deliveries, we've managed to raise PHP 383,744.26 and distributed 12 waves of deliveries for the Bakwit school while aiding Jeepney drivers along the process. Project Lumad has obtained over 2000 following and has even garnered international support and a qualifying slot for TAYO awards. Project Lumad has exceeded expectations.
I write to you now because we have been relentless and so rare do we get the chance to stop and evaluate what we've done and accomplished. Project Lumad has grown so much especially after finding esteemed people such as Martha and Alex among its ranks. We no longer offer our partner community museum trips that we think they'd want, we've learned to offer them the opportunity and the capacity to choose and procure what they need — what they deserve. Project Lumad has matured in its understanding of its advocacy which was exemplified during the height of the discussions on the then, Anti-Terror Bill, which threatened not only our operations and advocacy, but our existence as an organization. Alongside the project you too have grown, dear friend, both as a leader and as a communicator. I relay all of this to you now having recognized this as both a challenging time and an opportune time for Project Lumad.
I understand that Project Lumad seeks to expand its reach to other Lumad schools in Visayas and Mindanao and shift yet again into a social enterprise by next year via publishing a book about the Lumad. This is for the sake of sustainability and the hope of reaching a wider audience to which I hold in similar esteem. I thus implore you to consider these suggestions:
Involve your members and the rest of the organization in the project. This is not to say that we should assimilate more members into the Project Lumad team but rather to garner more support from our existing base. This can be done through streamlining knowledge transfer mechanisms so that our members could be educated of the plight of the Lumads and appreciate their culture. We push for appreciation and education fundamentally because this paves the way for us to contribute to their development, collaborate with them, and let their culture inspire us in any way of our lives.
Involve more people outside of the organization. We should not be limited to posting regular donation updates. Although this is necessary, our action should always be accompanied by the necessary and appropriate information. As a youth-run nonprofit organization, our assets lie in our network and our skills; thus, it remains our strength and duty to optimize such for the furtherance of our advocacy.
Involve Local Government Units. Being a nonregistered organization in the advent of the Anti-Terror Law, we must introduce ourselves and collaborate with the LGUs for us to reduce the likelihood of red-tagging. This is the best we could do as shared to us by Ms. Samira Gutoc. Through introducing ourselves particularly to the Civils Society Officers in LGUs we can pursue our mission of giving aid as well as build trust with our LGUs. If luck be upon us, they can help mobilize our resources and even add to it.
Involving people and entities requires better communication, of which Project Lumad has struggled with given that so few from the team are well-versed in Filipino. It becomes more difficult to internalize the stories of the Lumads when we cannot capture the means by which they relay their stories completely. How then can we communicate this to our donor base? Much more, how can we transition to publishing a book about their story when we have yet to understand its depth?
Integrating the stories of the Lumads into a book should be done with care and in consultation with the partner communities and those that have done it before. These students were forced to flee their homes and were subjected to various traumatic experiences. They push on because they recognize that they carry with them the dreams of their tribe, their community. We must always respect their story as inseparable from their historicity and aspirations. Our thrust for quality education should be beneficial to THEIR education, and not of others.
Lastly, preserving the Lumad schools is of utmost importance and this cannot be done without engaging in policymaking and lobbying. For the longest time we have strayed away from the political side of the matter, paralyzed by fear for ourselves and our volunteers, but this can no longer be the case if we are to scale our efforts up and effect meaningful, systemic change. The issue of the IPs is a political issue and it remains of great need and urgency that we consolidate a united and solidified response.
Our goal has always been the same — to promote quality education for the Lumad students, but we should never cease to imagine better, both in means and ends. I hope you can consider these suggestions moving forward.
1. I don’t like to agree with her arguments because her appearance in the video - her clothes, books, and glasses - made it all look fake and pretentious.
2. We conducted an internet connection survey among students of Sitio Rizal. Results showed they had stable connection, therefore it must be the same for their neighboring sitios Andres and Apolinario.
3. Either you give up your dream for a more practical job, or you live off the streets for the rest of your life.
4. Rody: Why are you using gasoline as a disinfectant?! Don’t you know that can kill you?
Bong: Wait a minute, you use gasoline too! Why should I listen to you?
5. Harry hasn’t been replying to any of my messages, I believe he’s mad at me.
1. She could not lead a country because she is too emotional.
2. He went out of the house then got infected with COVID 19. He, therefore, acquired the virus because of public exposure.
3. Person 1: A lot of people visited the opening of Manila Bay white sand. They did not observe social distancing and wear proper protective gear. It undoubtedly increased the transmission of the virus among the people who went there.
Person 2: So what you are saying is that the people who visited Manila Bay are going to get infected and are going die?
1. Ad hominem
2. Circular reasoning, there was nothing new.
3. This could be a straw man and slippery slope
4. Tu Quoque
5. This is either appeal to ignorance or fallacy fallacy
1. Ad hominem. it’s attacking an attribute of the person
2. This is a false dilemma, presenting two things as the only option.
3. The third could be red herring, distracting from the actual point.
4. This could be a straw man?
5. Ad hominem
Upon reading Jose Diokno's letter and his son's reaction to it, I was deeply moved by the exchange. Perhaps it was more heartfelt to me considering it had evoked similar feelings that I had when I wrote the last journal entry which was Crux, Crucible, and Crucifixion. In the article I mentioned how my father intends to pass down his books to me and how he encourages me to read it for it is my inheritance. It had the same undertones as my father trying to funnel as much of his experience and knowledge as he can
Pepe Diokno's letter was a sincere letter of both a lawyer and a father passing on his knowledge and experiences to his son before it was too late. I'm not sure if I'm overreading or if I'm projecting but then again, he was detained and the times were uncertain given the Martial Law. My father is the wisest and most brilliant person I know (and because I have stated this he can never see any of my blogs). He knows he can be preachy unlike Pepe Diokno, but he conveys heart, sincerity, and love and I hear it every time he tries to teach me Philosophy or the 'ways of the world'. It's a genuine exchange and it's the few moments children can actually cherish.
And the child does. In his own piece, decades later, Chel Diokno reminisces the letter and how much it has impacted his life both as kid and now as a father himself. He cites that "His greatest gift to me was being a father to me" which I relate to very much (now I really can't show him any of my blogs). The folly of youth lies in the time wasted not recognizing the love and effort poured onto them by their parents. Of course, there are exceptions to this and no parent is the same. Nevertheless, as for my experience, I have been blessed with great and loving parents who spoke to me not only as such but also as professionals and as friends. My mom is a blessing. It's a great shame that I have even shared to them that I am only realizing it now. Perhaps it is really part of adulting and trying to foresee the life ahead of you that you seek guidance, only to find it was there all along.
My writing aspirations are well... to write again. Personally, writing has been my crux, crucible, and crucifixion. I do not know whether my journey back to writing is akin to carrying the cross and grinding until the load becomes light — until writing becomes easy again. I do not know if when I'm atop Calvary, crucified and vulnerable to the world, will I then find forgiveness — forgiveness for myself and the journey that I went through?
I'm not particularly religious yet there is strength and depth in its literature and its figures of speech. Particularly, I do recognize that Jesus suffered all that for a reason. He had a choice not to go through all of it (though could he really deny himself of that being God and all) similarly I have a choice to let go of writing anymore (though do I really have a choice when it's a requirement in the academe and pretty much everywhere else). In short, there is a greater reason and a greater calling for taking up the cross, or in my case, taking up the pen. I ask myself — why?
My father being in the academe and our house being surrounded by books, I grew up surrounded by writing. My father prized all of his books but was very particular about his collection of The Greatest Books of the World. It was an array of important literature spanning 2 meters and ranging from Shakespeare to the Federal papers, Rousseau to Curie. It covered world-changing books on the topics of Politics, Literature, Philosophy, Sciences, and the likes. He would always encourage me to read them. "Wala akong ibang maipapamana sa'yo kundi ito" he would say it with both sadness and hope. Sadness perhaps due to its truth, given our financial standing. Hope because he believes I can use this to succeed. In retrospect, I think more than just using it to succeed, he hopes that someday I'll be part of this collection, and believes it. Oops. But for the sake of my father, I take up the pen because I want to believe that I can write something world-changing someday and hopefully for the better.
The last one is a clear false dilemma pitting capturing the avatar and gaining honor. We now know that Zuko regained his honor by helping the Avatar restore balance to the world.
The second one is a classic appeal to ignorance as the mom probably misconstrues the correlation. However, there are instances that this can be true such as now. So yes Ma, masakit ulo ko at kakakompyuter ko to dahil sa online class.
The first is either uses circular reasoning or non sequitur because it simply does not follow.
The Wonderful World of Twitter: On Teddy Boy Locsin’s tweet on the Northern Borneo Dispute
Diplomacy is a dream I have foregone. Occasionally that dream is spurred back to existence every time Sec. Teddy Boy Locsin spats in Twitter.
The Northern Borneo dispute is still a sensitive matter and for a person of power and authority to represent the Philippines and making a non-official claim in a public and informal platform such as Twitter is both unprofessional and distasteful.
As the premier diplomat of the Philippines that is supposed to represent and symbolize our beliefs and values as a nation, I am troubled if he is the one astray or the nation that tolerates this. His tweet does not characterize his duty to "maintain political, economic, and social relations with another country or countries" nor does it exhibit tact and skill in managing delicate situations. He is even known to engage and spat at critics on Twitter.
Communication is key to his profession and a simple miscommunication can spell consequences not just for him but for the country as well. To illustrate, the Northern Borneo dispute is partially a problem of miscommunication as well whether it's an issue of lease or cessation due to different translations. Such miscommunication has dragged on for decades and remains unresolved.
Although I recognize that engaging him would be apt and perhaps the most 'communicative' thing to do, I would rather cede my chance to respond to him and engage more knowledgeable entities or people who I might learn from more on the matter.
“Ang Dolomites ay nourishment to aid plant growth sabi ng DENR while ang “Yellowmites” naman ay proven kanser sa Pilipinas.”
2
*makes valid point*
“Eh di ikaw na matalino”
3
“Di mo ba nakikita na mas mayaman tayo ng panahon ni Marcos? Isang piso, isang dolyar! Di ka kasi nag-aaral. God bless nalang.”
4
Jesus probably doesn’t have knees because the Bible doesn’t mention anything about him having knees.
5
LRay Villafuerte: It is clear as day that Congressman Teves has launched this chicanery on the basis of mere hearsay as part of the sinister ploy hatched by the Velasco camp, in cahoots with former Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez,to wreck Speaker Cayetano’s commitment to fast-track the approval of the 2021 GAA.
Albee Benitez: You accuse Cong. Teves of making accusations based on hearsay but what you are doing is worse. Totally baseless and a figment of your overactive and defensive imagination. If you have nothing to hide, explain to the Filipino people why the national government has to shoulder the construction of your Provincial Capitol that costs more than P420M?
Points and a pint with Servaes, Quebral, and Chatterjee
September 16, 2020
Jan Sarvaes, Nora Quebral, and Mrinal Chatterjee walk into a bar and discuss Communication, Development, Development Communication, and Communication for Development. They sit at the at the far end corner, near our table. It was the 12th of September and I was with my [team]mates talking about Module 0 for a certain class called DEV 108. An interesting lot we were: Abie, a brilliant scholar with a bubbly personality; Nina, an inquisitive mind who was always the first to respond; Dana, a gentle soul bearing a lot of ideas; and me, Kyle, who was hypothetically envisioning this scenario to get through Module 0.
We were having our fair share of awkward silences when we overheard Dr. Chatterjee exclaim about using media to "bring education, essential skills, social unity, and a desire to 'modernize'" as she cites William Rostow. Quebral seeing this line of reasoning decides to build on this and define development communication as "the art and science of human communication applied to the speedy transformation of a country and the mass of its people from poverty to a dynamic state of economic growth that makes possible greater social equality and the larger fulfillment of the human potential" (Quebral, 1971). Servaes takes note of this and concedes that communication strategies and principles can be applied in the developing world for them to catch up to the development equivalent to Western countries (Servaes 2020; Chatterjee, 2010). With my interest piqued and perhaps due to the spirits within me, I interject from my table asking "Excuse me, is development communication designed for haste? And is development equated to economic growth alone? Would an increase in productivity guarantee equity and nonmaterial needs?
I then present my observations from eavesdropping from each one of them, as well as the questions I might have should the spirits grant me courage or carelessness.
From Servaes via the Introduction table:
Servaes was keen on defining and grounding the terms. The main theme was about differentiating Development Communication from Communication for Development. Her first pint (point) revolved on the definition provided by Quebral, dated 1971 and the UN FAO, dated 1984. I've managed to arrive at development communication being transformative while Communication for development is geared towards common understanding. I therefore ask, is development communication designed for haste or 'speedy transformation'? I am of the institutionalist opinion that development takes time or is this a matter of having willpower to thrust into development? If it's the latter, it runs in friction with communication for development prompted by the question of what constitutes common understanding? Is it limited to a consensus and if so does it consider the politics in play, power relations, and other factors?
Other observations I've gathered is that Development Communication nuances social change through communication while Communication for Development nuances dialogue towards development. Development Communication stresses access and policies or institutions while Communication for Development stresses process and 'the rules of the game. For the fourth pint, it becomes a question of target as Development Communication assumes that developing countries are disadvantaged while Communication for Development assumes each society has a disadvantaged group. Some clarifications I would like to ask include how communication strategies, theories, and principles differ in use. Is development communication limited to Western literature and if so, wouldn't that be difficult to localize to communities? Lastly, Development communication seems to be more geared on imparting 'hard' technical skills while Communication for Development seem to be geared on imparting 'soft' skills or grounded processes and realities.
On Quebral:
We've identified four themes to Quebral's primer. First, that being the dynamic definition of Development communication. Development as a confluence of both development and communication affords it a dynamic definition that in its history, moves with sign of the times. Shifting from neoliberal roots with merely economic development to the buzz word of today which is sustainability, development targets the question of who are the agents of social change. The said vehicle of development, communication, targets the scope of the agent from old media including newspaper and radios, to a globalized audience through new media like social and digital media.
The second pint is with regards to forum and consensus. Quebral emphasizes that development communication strives to provide a forum and achieve a consensus while conceding that in doing this, the public opinion centered in the metro can marginalize other voices particularly those from rural areas. She does not state how this can be achieved other than it being the responsibility of the development communicator which will be tackled in the fourth theme. A consensus is maintained through communication media acting as a teacher imposing a national identity that is supposedly an amalgamation of different cultures without fixing the case of marginalized voices. Furthermore, Quebral is keen on pushing for a forum and consensus which requires participation and democracy; however wouldn't this run in friction with her definition of having a "speedy transformation"?
Third pint is about communication media. Communication media shifts between the role of facilitator and teacher. The former is concerned with freedom of information, expression, and assembly allowing people in general to have a voice. It does however give a platform to oppressors as well who are benefited by unequal power relations whether it be local or national. The latter is concerned with introducing and solidifying progressive ideas, skills, and values necessary to uplifting their lives; however, this can still be received as an imposition of standard "uplifted life" to supposedly fashioned out of diverse cultures. What strategies can communication media apply to mitigate this? Communication media has been instrumental to propagating a national identity yet what constitutes a national identity? Isn't our national identity predominantly from the metro or powerful voices?
Last pint is about the development communicator. Development communication has shifted the responsibility to orchestrate development to the nonformal education sector including the development communicator who is also responsible with giving a voice to the voiceless. This assumes that the development communicator is also privileged enough to be empowered in having a voice in the public opinion centered in the metro or cities. Furthermore, the shift to nonformal sector leaves development bereft of a top-down accountability and development may become more individuated. This also begs the question if development communicators should act as the "voice of the voiceless" or as the ones that empower and create spaces for these marginalized voices to arise?
On Chatterjee:
Chatterjee was very straightforward. Her main question was about whether it was Communication for Development or Communication of/about Development. Not so much as a question of one or the other, Chatterjee clarifies that the difference lies in how communication as the vehicle of development is utilized. Communication for development tends to be project-centric and seeks meaningful communication between stakeholders — in short, communication is used to deliver or actualize development. Communication of Development tends to be process-based and seeks transformative storytelling to inform or critique development efforts — in short, communication is used to talk about development. Although communication is nuanced well-enough, the second component of the confluence which is Development is not explored and the definition is limited in breadth and scope as it is directed towards economic growth alone presupposing that an increase in production of goods and services will answer questions of access, equity, and nonmaterial needs.
Chatterjee also brings to light the history of Development Communication. The history of development communication is laden with western ideologies and it's biggest jump according to the article is the shift from the emphasis on economic growth to basic needs. This basic needs approach is still very much limited in that it strives for survival alone and does not consider nonmaterial needs. This only suggests that Development Communication has taken big strides yet still has much to address and improve, at least according to this article.
Development communication traverses through varied goals set by varied stakeholders with varied objectives that lead to varied problems. As Development Communication becomes the vehicle of different 'developmental' agendas, it remains a question on who takes the wheel? There is little to no mention of existent power relations when it comes to stakeholders.
Lastly, with regards to Development journalism which is the path of Communication about development, several tensions arise in employing development journalism. While it's investigative and focuses on common people, there is a need to look for the dramatic effect for it to sell. Development Journalism may end up tiptoeing between delivering a representative case and delving into development narcissism and/or poverty porn.
One for the road...
The three portray the advances of the field as well as its definitions, although varying. It’s dynamic and alive the same way development and communication is alive. Development Communication and Communication for/about development positions itself as a practical field of knowledge with a myriad of possibilities for application and study.
Sobering up...
Coming to my senses, I’m not sure whether I was able to be part of discussion or if I even had the courage to ask. I’m not entirely sure how much pints I had or if the entire exchange happened. Even then I’m filled with thoughts on Communication, Development, Development Communication, and Communication for Development.
