Over 400 participants from vote-rich provinces Iloilo and Negros Occidental joined the second leg of the virtual Youth Caravan from January 24 to 28, 2022.
YOUth Choose for 2022: The Youth Caravan on Voter Empowerment is a week-long activity that seeks to inform and empower youth organizations, students and young professionals to participate in the forthcoming May 2022 national elections.
It is organized by the La Salle Institute of Governance (LSIG), in partnership with pro-democracy coalition Participate and YouthLed.
At the launching of the event on January 24, LSIG Director Dr. Ador Torneo noted how this year's elections is significant as it will be held amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, which has so far infected 3.5 million in the Philippines.
"This marks the end of six years of an administration that has been marred by many controversies, including accusations of democratic backsliding... and we want the next six years to be better," Torneo said.
YouthLed Program Officer Mikaela Ann Macayan discussed civic education and voter empowerment while Sowing Legacy Movement Inc. Board of Trustees Chairperson Richelle Verdeprado discussed youth political participation in separate sessions.
"Now is the time to persuade ourselves to participate in things beyond our comfort zone," Verdeprado told the participants.
Ms. Mika Macayan during her discussion on Civic Education and Voter Empowerment
Challenges for the youth
For the culminating activity on January 28, the speakers were Kamara PH Program Head Carmela Adelantar, Ateneo School of Government Advocacy and Communications Officer Mc JazerMalonda and Positive Youth Development Network Executive Director Alfred Dicto.
The sessions focused on the preparations for the 2022 elections, the proliferation of fake news, and campaign strategies under pandemic conditions.
To combat the spread of fake news and disinformation, Malonda urged the youth participants to look for various credible sources of information double checking sources.
Malonda warned the youth participants that believing in fake news could have an effect in democracy, particularly in the upcoming polls. He added that Ateneo School Government, together with other partners, developed the first misinformation and disinformation web-
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based application. This app aims to help the users identify if information found online is fact or fake.
A hashtag campaign activity was also a part of the event, where the participants determined the kind of leader they want and identifying their aspirations for voting.
As of September 2021, 52% of the total registered voters or 31.41 million voters for the 2022 elections are 18 to 40 years old, according to the Comelec.
This is a substantial number of youth voters as they can shape the outcomes of the election and the future of the Filipino people.
The Youth Caravan's main objective was to promote and encourage youth political participation in the elections by providing spaces for the local youth sector to participate in election-related activities and empowering the Filipino youth to be involved in youth-centered issues.
The speakers of the launching activity during the open forum
The participants of the culminating activity of the Youth Caravan