SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – Citizen engagement is more than just a buzzword at Rappler’s MovePH.
It is the reason that keeps us constantly on our toes as we think of innovative ways to harness the power of the people. It is also the answer to many of the development challenges we encounter as we cover stories about disasters, hunger, and corruption. After all, an engaged citizenry is the foundation stone of a vibrant and functional democratic society.
In today’s hyper connected world, the power of one can never be underestimated. Just like Ryan Andresen’s mom who used Change.org to petition the Boy Scouts of America to rescind its discriminatory anti-gay policy. Ryan was able to get his Eagle Scout award in 2013 thanks to his mom and 479,734 other supporters who signed the petition.
In the Philippines, the potential for social media as a force for positive social change was proven in the #MillionPeopleMarch. What began as a protest page on Facebook against the Priority Development Assistance Fund quickly snowballed into a larger social movement against corruption.
Social media also plays a role in disaster preparedness and promoting climate change awareness. During typhoon Ondoy in 2009 and after Yolanda (Haiyan) struck in 2013, social media was alive with people volunteering their time and resources to help the survivors. MovePH’s own Project Agos aims to harness social networks before, during, and after disasters to build more resilient communities.
It is for this reason that MovePH is building a community of Movers – people who want to bring about the change they wish to see in the world. We have several projects and activities lined up for the year so we need volunteers and citizen journalists who can help us do a number of crowdsourcing initiatives from mapping flooded areas to reporting incidences of hunger. We will also need volunteers to help us organize community events like Move workshops and meet ups.
Join the MovePH Community today to know the latest activities and stay in the loop. You can sign up in this form and follow us on Twitter via @MovePH or like us on our Facebook page. Together, we can Move the Philippines! – Rappler.com
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