GOOGLE Philippines has launched a collection of animated videos and spoken word poetry as part of its 2021 Safer Internet Day celebration which aims to teach digital responsibility and help Filipinos be better netizens and stewards of the internet.
The content — uploaded on Google Philippines’ official YouTube channel — is developed by the youth volunteers of Teach Peace Build Peace Movement (TPBPM), an NGO which aims to build peace online and in vulnerable communities nationwide.
The Safer Internet Day playlist includes five animated videos and five spoken word poetry videos. (Watch the videos here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAAsONeUBlk&list=PLVoNArkTf3agusmCOzaLktpxNC4hEOjtd)
The themes of the YouTube videos are: kindness; the value of strong passwords and online security; critical thinking, oversharing prevention, and courage online. Google aims to reach over 40 million people and teach them about digital responsibility through the program.
The animated videos were illustrated and animated by Christwin Felix, a volunteer who has been teaching multimedia arts for more than 10 years, while the stories were written by Grace Bufi, a housewife and a passionate storyteller. Ms. Bufi, together with her husband, established the Basa Bookstore and The Storytelling Project, a non-profit organization that aims to spark hope, inspiration, and imagination through storytelling.
“Everyone has a role to play in making the internet a safer environment. We can use our voice, social media accounts, and our skills to promote it to our friends, our family, and communities. All of us can teach it and all of us can actively evangelize the importance of digital responsibility,” Bernadette Nacario, country director of Google Philippines, said during a digital press conference on Feb. 9 held via Google Meet.
Actor Dingdong Dantes and YouTube creator Janina Vela took part in the videos in voiceover roles.
“YouTube creators play an important role in teaching digital responsibility. We can use our voice and platform to raise awareness on how we can all be better stewards of the internet. I hope that beyond Safer Internet Day, we can always practice healthy digital habits online and offline,” Ms. Vela said.
During the 2019 Safer Internet Day, Google and TPBPM launched a campaign called Cyberpeace to teach at least 10,000 high school students about digital responsibility. Amid the pandemic, with the help of several volunteers, the campaign reached more than 416,000 people nationwide through digital means such as social media and webinars. — Zsarlene B. Chua