The Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), through its Southeast Asian regional secretariat, Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID), has launched a worthy program that is very much in line with what the Mindanao Bloggers Community stands for: iBlogforPeace.
“iBlogforPeace seeks to broaden the discourse on peace by providing an online platform for civil society, particularly the unorganized and the bloggers community, to take part in the conversations in their own contexts and engage in dialogues with kindred individuals and groups such as peace advocates. It hopes to help influence and change dominant public opinion and culture skewed towards armed and violent resolutions of conflicts and convey the urgency of fostering a culture where peace can thrive.”
Mainstream media, in struggling with the balance between fair reporting and “entertainment value”, fails time and again in portraying the whole truth when it comes to Mindanao issues. This is especially true when it comes to news coverage about conflict between Muslims and Christians, government forces and rebels, etc. This was the main point of discussion during MediaNation 5.2, to which I was invited to contribute my thoughts. MediaNation is an annual conference participated in by the country’s distinguished tri-media industry decision-makers.
Bloggers, through their down-to-earth and man-on-the-street reportage, are viewed as potential providers of the much-needed balance.
The objectives which led to the formation of the Mindanao Bloggers Community coincide with the objectives of iBlogforPeace. Thus, IID has invited MBC to be a partner in the iBlogforPeace initiative. Together, a greater awareness of the real issues — and hopefully, the real solutions — might be achieved.
Please help spread the word. You, the blogger, may take part by actively writing about peace, and about iBlogforPeace. You could also display the iBlogforPeace badge on your blog. When more people become mindful of peace initiatives and join discussions with a growing number of concerned individuals, sustainable progress in communities and self-determination of peoples will have a chance at last.
Possibly related posts:
- Communicators’ forum for peace
- MediaNation5.2
- Blogging for popularity, towards social responsibility
- Media on Mindanao tourism
- MB in Hong Kong
