YABONG Founder Dun Oliver Abiera has qualified as the sole representative of the Philippines in the 12th Asia Europe Foundation – ASEF Journalist Seminar (ASEFJMS12) in Madrid, Spain. The seminar took place from December 13-14 to bring together young journalists from Asia and Europe on Media Trust and Information in the Digital Age.
With this, YABONG was introduced to fellow qualifiers and of course, the ASEF community. Abiera incorporated his and YABONG’s take on Media Information Literacy to youth governance and involvement. In his speech, Abiera gave emphasis to data consumers that lack the ability to responsibly take in information.
“MIL is a two-way street. One street is crossed by the information givers which is the usual path taken to resolve disinformation and misinformation. Writers, bloggers, and journalists are to pushed to edge to practice for self-regulation. But it has its own limit,” said Abiera in his turn to share his insights on journalism, MIL, and advocacy-life.
“They say writers are responsible for what they write, not how others comprehend their work – but when we think like this, we are disregarding the people on the other end of the street: the consumers – people of both high and low socio-economic status; students with low comprehension skills; and victims of both misinformation and lack of background to even interpret the aforesaid information.
Afterwards, he pitched YABONG in his short speech, indicating the organization's desire to think, embark, and create and apply these principles to employ an impact with a massive magnitude in the society.
“These principles are the cornerstone why we founded YABONG or Youth Advocates Building Opportunities and Network in Governance Philippines,” explained Abiera. “YABONG is a non-profit organization which aims to strengthen youth force in nation-building and governance.”
Among hundreds of applicants, only a chosen few were selected to become part of the #ASEFJS12. The event, spearheaded by ASEF, was made possible by partnerships with Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Unión Europea y Cooperación de España, Casa Asia and Agencia EFE.
As YABONG reaches international lengths in its promotion, it will not take long for YABONG to bring international launchings to fruition.
