#cyberREADI Project Brief
In this
digital age, the internet and the social media have empowered almost everyone
not only to consume a practically endless amount of information but also create
and disseminate our own content.
The
youth are at the forefront of this digital economy, with young people all over
the world being the most active users of the internet. The latest data from the
International Telecommunication Union showed that around 70 per cent of the
world’s youth, aged 15-24, are online.
While
the internet has its many advantages, allowing us to gather just about any
information with a click or tap of our finger, it brings some danger too. We
all may have encountered instances of fake news and disinformation spreading
online, and heard of cases of cyberbullying, online scams, and even child
pornography.
With
these in mind, the Philippine Information Agency, in partnership with the
InfoComm Media Development Authority of Singapore and with funding support from
the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund, spearheaded the ASEAN-Japan Media and
Information Literacy for the Youth Project. This project aims to promote media
and information literacy or MIL among the youth of ASEAN. We place special
focus on promoting cyber wellness to help the young users of internet be
discerning and responsible in their online activities.
As a
starting point, we organized in Manila in March 2018 a Forum on Cyber Wellness
that was attended by representatives from public information, media, academe,
and youth sectors of all the ten ASEAN Member States. Resource speakers from
the Philippines, Singapore, Japan, UNESCO, and Facebook provided valuable
insights on the issues surrounding the youth’s online use and behavior.
Emphasis was given on four cyber wellness aspects in the presentations and the
group workshops that followed:
1. Developing
healthy digital habits,
2. Building
resilience against cyberbullying and other negativity online,
3. Discerning
consumption and responsible sharing of information online, and,
4. Keeping
safe online.
Following
the Forum, we undertook the development of multimedia materials with the
University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication Foundation Inc. To
obtain more inputs for the conceptualization of materials, an audience analysis
using focus group discussions was conducted with Filipino youth representatives.
The study looked into the youth’s level of awareness in terms of online safety
and their preferred messaging strategies.
Aside
from the inputs from the Forum and the focus group discussions, the production
team also considered the ASEAN Core Values on Digital Literacy, adopted by the
ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Information in May 2018. These core values go
by the acronym READI which stands for:
R - responsibility for
what we post online
E - empathy to be
respectful and thoughtful of others in our online interactions
A - authenticity or
sincerity in our online interactions
D - discernment to critically
evaluate online information before acting on it, and,
I - integrity to do the
right thing, stand up for what is right, and speak up against negative online
behavior.
In
May 2019, we have completed the production of multimedia materials, which
include short videos, infographics, other social media collaterals, as well as
a training module for cyber wellness. Using these materials, all the ten Member
States of ASEAN are now geared to launch their respective cyber wellness
campaigns at the national level.
