#MoveCebu: Social Good in the Digital Age
Photo by Jessa Marie Pedrola
For the first time in the University of San Carlos, Rappler in coordination with the Department of Political Science, conducted the forum “#MoveCebu: Social Good in the Digital Age”. The event provided relevant and informative discourses on the responsible use of civic engagement, such as social media, in attaining the social good. The forum was held from 9 a.m. to 12 noon last Thursday, Aug. 30, at Gansewinkel Hall and the subsequent workshop from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Dingman Hall.
The program commenced with welcome remarks given by the Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs, Fr. Narciso Cellan Jr., SVD. His speech gave premium to how people must negotiate through social media for it to be good and constructive. He enunciated that ideal social media must be critical but also compassionate because it is foremost, an obligation. Brief activities on the usage of the different social media platforms were then held for the attendees. It was discovered that a majority of the Carolinians participating preferred Instagram over Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter.
The first talk entitled: “Social Media: Good or Evil?” , was presented by the CEO of Rappler, Maria Ressa. She credited the success of Rappler through the integration of journalism and technology. Elaborating examples of social media for the good such as the use of hashtags in Yolanda rescue operations, she talked about bottom-up crowdsourcing known as AGOSand about the crowd funding campaign for Daniel Cabrera. Accordingly, Ms. Ressa also underscored the shortcomings of social media like the Facebook-driven genocide in Myanmar, proliferation of fake news and patriotic trolling. She concluded her talk with the firm belief that the mission of journalism is stronger than ever in the digital age.
The Head of Rappler Digital Communication, Stacy De Jesus, conducted the second talk on “Responsible Use of Digital Media”. Discussed the need for net neutrality, she highlighted the importance of staying engaged and the difference between bots, trolls and fake accounts. A panel discussion on why facts matter then followed. It was moderated by Raisa Seraficio, Head of Rappler Civic Engagement and participated by Sol Amante, Sunstar Editor; Nestor Ramirez, President of Cebu Association of Communication Editors; and Stacy De Jesus, Head of Rappler Digital Communication.
The afternoon session included workshops on research, verification and fact checking. Finally, there were breakout sessions among the three groups: disinformation group, AGOS group, and storytelling group. To end, Ms. Abigail Abigan, a member of the Rappler Community Team, acknowledged the success of the event and the prospect of future events such as #MoveCebu in the University of San Carlos.
