PAGBABAGO
Dr. Florangel Rosario-Braid
(Part II)
Dr. Crispin Maslog and I were fortunate to be invited to join a small global committee that would follow-up recommendations. Several policy conferences were held in the region including need for alternative media ownership systems such as a public service broadcast system. The argument for this is that in the country we only have two systems of media ownership – that of government and commercial. The alternative would be a people owned and managed by representatives of people’s organizations.
We were the first consultant of the Supreme Court when it initiated its judicial reform program – implementing information-communication tasks such as multisectoral consultations, access to justice, and alternative legal systems. These among many, we learned: That the poor prefer justice over food, because with the former, one can have access to these material needs. Another was that communication and information are vital in ensuring speedy and fair justice
Our involvement with the UNESCO National Commission as committee chair on communication enabled me to attend biennial conferences as well as sit in two information and communication councils in Paris, as well as implement over a dozen projects on policy, and challenges of the digital divide and the knowledge society, specifically, on public domain information. Several publications, and audio visual productions had come out of commissioned research from UNESCO, UNICEF. European Commission and other UN, international and national government agencies.
Among learnings from our research and consultations on the new information technology is the need to push for full implementation of policies and support systems for open source and public domain information. Especially during these pandemic times when our educational system has to suddenly shift to distance or online learning, we need to ensure that the millions of students – from early to higher education are able to find an alternative to libraries since visit to latter is limited by pandemic protocols. Still, a great deal of scientific information is not easily available for public use.
One of our more challenging projects was a six-year communication strategy utilizing a mix of approaches – capacity building, advocacy, message development, training for alternative employment of the Department of Agriculture and funded from a loan by the Asian Development Bank. This was another area where Cris and I intersected as he was our consultant in capacity building. We travelled to the 100 of the most marginalized communities, capacitated local fisheries officers, and facilitated initiatives in resource management of mangroves, artificial reefs and in developing their own advocacy materials. Training had provided Bantay Dagats the competencies to effectively prevent incursions of commercial fishermen. Some of them provided inputs to the current Fisheries Code. I hope this initiative would continue today especially in the light of threats in our West Philippine Sea.
A book project that responded to the six decades of conflict in the South dealt with commonalities in Muslim and Christian cultures where scholars from both sides examined similarities shown in education, the community, legal systems, environment, role of women, family life, and the role of communication in promoting understanding. The real challenge is how to build on the commonalities. A complementary project dealt with setting up a website using research findings and examining ethnic prejudices on media.
I retired several years ago but my colleague Ramon Tuazon and his equally dedicated team had continued to link with international partners and to undertake current challenges such as media and information literacy, safety of journalists, capability building through upskilling of online teachers, developing criteria for new codes of ethics for present-day journalism, and responding to threats of fake news and disinformation.
In summary, my reflections on the past two decades can be summarized thus: though talent is essential, tenacity and a sense of purpose and passion are more important. Thus, we must seize every moment and opportunity, to be fully aware. That we must embrace failure because it is essential in strengthening one’s character and the capacity to endure. That there is much we can learn from the people. Thus, we must engage in active listening.
Let me thank Dr. Marge Acosta, dean of Miriam College’s Higher Education, who as moderator, skillfully drew us out; Dr. Fernando Paragas, professor of communication research at UP Diliman, who produced the show which was much appreciated by our Zoom participants, and Mark Lester Chico, president of PACE. These conversations are useful in the sense that they help remind us of our responsibility. That at the heart of development is social justice and the supreme duty of communication professionals to narrow existing gaps and inequities toward a more balanced, fair and just society.
My email, [email protected]