YFC, student groups join Rappler for papal coverage

MANILA, Philippines – The visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines is as much a story about the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics as it is about the people of this Southeast Asian country.

Rappler, together with student organizations across the Philippines, brings you these stories for #PopeFrancisPH – the People’s Coverage of the People’s Pope. 

MovePH, Rappler’s citizen engagement arm, has brought together more than 20 student organizations and volunteer groups to field more than 100 MovePH citizen journalists to papal events during the 5-day visit. 

These groups include the 50,000-strong Youth for Christ (YFC), the youth arm of Couples for Christ, one of the biggest Catholic communities in the Philippines.

In Metro Manila, students from the University of the Philippines, the Ateneo de Manila University, and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines will station themselves along the motorcade route and at all events to bring live up-to-the-minute social media updates.

In Leyte, students from the Visayas State University, the Southern Luzon State University, and Eastern Visayas State University will cover the Pope’s one-day visit to Palo and Tacloban in Leyte. 

To prepare its volunteers, MovePH recently held an orientation with volunteers from the UP Journalism Club, UP Diliman College of Mass Communications’ Tinig ng Plaridel, Ateneo’s The Guidon, UP Campus Ministry, UP Student Catholic Action, the PUP Mulat Documentary Guild, and YFC.

On December 29, 2014, Rappler also held a seminar-workshop in Palo, Leyte, titled “Covering Pope Francis in Eastern Visayas.”

Rappler executive editor and CEO Maria Ressa and CBCP News director Msgr Pedro Quitorio led this event. Palo Archbishop John Du and the top officials of the Palo Archdiocese media office, Fathers Amadeo Alvero and Chris Militante, facilitated the seminar-workshop in Leyte. 

MovePH invites you to join the People’s Coverage of the People’s Pope by sending us your photos and stories to move.ph@rappler.com. You can also join in the discussion on Twitter, Facebook, Viber and FireChat. 

Click here to see how you can be a part of the action!

Tell us why Pope Francis’ visit is significant for you and join the discussion online using #PopeFrancisPH. Be a part of this historic event by sharing your story today! – Rappler.com