The Cagayan leg of the Salaam Regional Workshops saw participants from Northern Mindanao and its surrounding regions to work together for peace. Young Moro leaders from Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, and Marawi were enjoined to create their own social media campaigns involving a concept that is close to their hearts.
These workshops have been integral to the project’s thrust to create safe spaces for the youth. This is two-fold; with the youth being fluent in the usage of social media, the content that they are subjected with on this platform also influences them to think or act a certain way.
This then affects how their behavior is like when they are offline, and in settings where they are involved in the community. Violent extremist actors are present in social media and have used it as a way to prey on the youth’sA idealism and sense of camaraderie.
The Salaam project team gathered these youth at Apple Tree Resort at Opol, Misamis Oriental, where they were subjected to our formative-technical workshop design. Here the focus was on the youth; their hopes, their dreams, and their initiatives.
Like the Zamboanga and Davao legs, these participants were able to participate and create their own local initiatives and programs. Their topics of interest ranged from bridging inter-religious differences, to combating fake news and addressing violent extremism in the Toril (Islamic Boarding School).
###
Do you have any more signs of empowered youth that you’d like to share? Message us at @AlQalamInst on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get the discussion going!
