A virtual graduation rite will also be held to award certificates to youth leaders who completed 20 Media Civic Lab Training courses.

Finishing the first phase of its three-pronged media literacy program, Media Civics Lab is happy to announce the positive results that resulted from the series of webinars and online courses they conducted promoting media knowledge against the proliferation of misinformation.   

Following a successful launch of an online learning platform covering four important segments of media literacy namely; Responsible Digital Citizenship, Media Literacy and Awareness, Fake News and Disinformation, and Positive Participation, Media Civics Lab conducted 20 virtual classes touching up on various topics about the new media. These learning modules will then be entered into an online learning management system to be accessed by future students. 

A total of 5 Webinars were also held on successive Saturdays that averaged thousands of views peaking in at 10,000 viewers on Facebook Live. During these webinars, Media Civics Lab engaged the minds of the participants by inviting some of the most prominent figures in the media, law and civics society to share their best practices and knowledge about understanding the new media.  Some of the most recognizable individuals we have invited are TJ Manotoc of ABS-CBN, Richard Heydarian of GMA News, and RJ Ledesma of Bloomberg. On top of these webinars, Media Civics Lab also conducted a session on Covid 19-related misinformation hosted by academic Mara Barbra Nanaman.

Graduation Ceremony

A total of 212 students signed up for the Phase 1 of Media Civics Lab Training Program. From the initial batch, 35 students comprising mostly of Sanggunian Kabataan leaders, have successfully completed all 20 courses and will be awarded with a certificate symbolizing their graduation from the program. Media Civics Lab is hoping that they will share all the knowledge they learned to their youth constituents in their respective localities. Speaking at the virtual commencement ceremony are Jaime Florcruz, Former CNN Beijing Bureau Chief, Ellen Tordesillas of Vera Files and Malaysiakini’s Darshini Kandasamy. 

Looking Forward to the Future of Media Civics Lab

With Phase 1 done and dusted, Media Civics Lab has set its sight on continuing the program by securing partnerships with other civic-oriented groups to ensure a seamless run to the finish line of spreading media literateness to all corners of our country. Here are the new partners of Media Civics Lab: National Movement of Young Legislators, 2030 Youth Force of the Philippines, Foundation for Media Alternatives – Initiative for Media Freedom, Out-of-the-Box Media (OOTB) Literacy Initiative, Isip Kwago Publishing and TAYO Foundation.

Liked this post? Follow SwirlingOverCoffee on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.