#MoveLeyte attracts over a thousand

LEYTE, Philippines – Over a thousand students attended Rappler’s Move Chat Series held at the Visayas State University’s (VSU) convention center on Friday, January 25.

Titled, “Social Media for Social Change,” with the theme, “Tukmang paggamit sa social media alang sa matinud-anong piniliay” (Harnessing social media for honest elections), the event was Rappler’s 11th of its chat series which began in late 2011.

Emceed by Rappler multimedia reporter Natashya Gutierrez, the event opened with VSU vice president for academic affairs Dr Oscar Posas saying that Philippine elections continue to face challenges, given a history associated with guns, goons, and gold. He stressed however that elections should be “everyone’s responsibility.”

Keynote speaker and Rappler chief executive officer Maria Ressa said that the coming elections will perhaps be the first social media driven election in the country, making it an interesting electoral exercise. What will make it different is the extent of collaboration that interested groups will be willing to do.

Other Rappler speakers included Chay Hofileña, citizen journalism director, who touched on what citizen journalists can do before, during and after the elections; Natashya Gutierrez who described the challenges faced by a multimedia reporter; Michael Josh Villanueva who discussed how social media can be used during the elections; and Patricia Evangelista who moved many to tears with the documentaries she showed.

Photos above were sent by Precious Joyce Ogdoc and Pete Mar Yves Villalino. – Rappler.com