I learned about a cyber wellness campaign for the Philippine youth dubbed #cyberREADI. This is spearheaded by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), the official arm of the Republic of the Philippines. The campaign is actually a part of the ASEAN-Japan Media and Information Literacy (MIL) for the Youth Project which the PIA is spearheading in partnership with the InfoComm Media Development Authority of Singapore and with funding support from the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF).

The campaign official logo and branding focused on #cyberREADI – with READI representing the five (5) ASEAN Core Values on Digital Literacy adopted by the ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Information in May 2018. These values served as a framework for the digital literacy programs in the region:

Core Values and Description

• Responsibility – We should think first and be responsible for what we post online.
• Empathy – We should be respectful and thoughtful of how our online interactions may affect others.
• Authenticity – We should be sincere in our online interactions and prepared to stand by what we post.
• Discernment – We should critically evaluate the online information before acting on it.
• Integrity – We should do the right thing, stand up for what is right and speak up against negative online behaviour.

After the logo and branding were launched, the PIA has released various multimedia materials and resources developed with the help of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication Foundation Inc. (UPCMCFI). These materials are products of an audience analysis on youth’s level of awareness regarding online safety, using focus group discussions conducted with Filipino youth representatives in different areas in the country.

Also greatly considered in the production of these materials were the insights on the changing media consumption habits of the youth and initiatives and best practices in promoting media and information literacy as discussed by speakers from the Philippines, Singapore, Japan, UNESCO, and Facebook and in group workshops by representatives from public information, media, academe, and youth sectors of the ten (10) ASEAN Member States during the ASEAN-Japan Forum on Media and Literacy: Cyber Wellness for the Youth on March 2018.

Materials produced include:

• Short videos on the following topics:
  • Cyberbullying
  • Online gaming
  • Online dating
  • Online scam
  • Online privacy
  • Internet addiction

• Infographics
• Social media cards
• GIFs
• Module for cyber wellness training

A dedicated webpage for the cyber wellness campaign can be accessed on cyberreadi.pia.gov.ph. PIA regional and provincial offices are rolling out their respective activities to further spread the cyberREADI advocacy.

H.E. Kung Phoak, Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community stressed that the Cyber Wellness campaign is a timely project since digital media has increasingly become the primary source of information among ASEAN people. He says: “There is a need to build information resiliency among the youth and protect them from the risk of getting misled by fake news and misinformation. With enhanced media and information literacy, the youth is expected to become smart consumers and responsible producers of online information. Through this project, we hope young people would better understand, inquire, create, communicate and think critically while digitally engaged”.

Indeed, PIA has taken huge strides to safeguard the youth against the dangers in the online world by aggressively pushing for the promotion of its nationwide cyber wellness campaign.  To know more about #cyberREADI, visit www.facebook.com/CyberREADiPH.