Mindanao blogger in America

In 2007 when I put together the Mindanao Bloggers Community, I had not imagined it would endure this long — this loose association of bloggers and “new media” practitioners in the region has been active for almost four years now, and we’re still around, still making waves. The whole purpose of the group is to broadcast via the Internet a more well-rounded and true image of Mindanao, and we have begun to achieve this. We are also engaged in educational efforts that aim to empower bloggers and make them aware of their role in furthering the betterment of Mindanao.

I had also not anticipated being invited to international events as a blogger from Mindanao. The first such event was the BlogFest.Asia conference in Hong Kong last November 2009. I was given the chance to share my thoughts on community-building and peace initiatives through blogging, not knowing that this would lead to yet another invitation. This time, it was to the United States for a special edition of the International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) of the U.S. Department of State, from 21 January to 4 February 2010 in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco.

The IVLP is normally an educational program covering various fields where participants are invited to the U.S. for seminars, workshops and exposure trips. The program I was part of, however, was organized by the State Department for them to listen to our ideas and experiences in Internet-based communications and advocacy. There were nine other bloggers in this program: from China, Hong Kong S.A.R., Colombia, Iran, Lebanon, Moldova and Turkey.

The ten of us were privileged to be in the presence of Hillary Rodham Clinton when she delivered a landmark speech on the freedom of expression in cyberspace last 21 January 2010. In this policy speech, the U.S. has essentially issued a challenge to the world to uphold people’s freedom of expression on the Internet: in other words, if a country is indeed pro-democracy, it must also respect Internet freedom. Clinton acknowledged the power of the Internet as a medium for development and socio-economic progress, and its role in fostering peace across the globe. She emphasized that through the various cyber-forums now available, global understanding is now very much possible, and so this opportunity should be put to good use for everyone’s benefit.

Clinton, however, cautioned against those who would use the Internet for deleterious purposes, such as the activities of the Al Qaeda, online predators and cyber-criminals. The Secretary of State also made it clear that her country––the birthplace of the Internet––will vigorously defend freedom of expression in cyberspace and will work to advance this stance with countries that have repressive regimes. While Clinton did not specifically single out mainland China, whose government employs state-of-the-art technologies to enforce censorship, her speech came on the heels of the celebrated issue involving Google’s threat to pull out of China.

The State Department arranged a series of meetings for the IVLP participants to engage in discussions with government agencies, NGOs based in Washington, D.C., as well as with journalists and our counterparts (i.e., bloggers and social networking experts) in the United States. It was a chance for us to see American democracy in action, and for them to get to know how we’ve been using Internet tools to fight for freedom and peace.

My fellow alumni from China, Isaac Mao and Michael Anti, related to a rapt audience how their compatriots constantly find creative ways to circumvent the so-called Great Firewall of China. Also, they apprised us of the extent to which their government prosecutes those who would defy its authoritarian stranglehold on the Chinese people. And the alumna from Moldova, Natalia Morari, told us how hundreds of thousands of Moldovans were mobilized to overthrow the Communist Party in a peaceful manner. The mobilization was attributed to Twitter, possibly the world’s most popular micro-blogging platform.

For my part, I was able to share my experience and challenges in building the Mindanao Bloggers Community, and how the Community is geared towards helping promote peace and progress in the Philippine South. I’m happy to report that peace advocates in the States, such as Freedom House, are now interested in possibly partnering with us in future projects that will benefit Mindanao.

In San Francisco, California, the U.S. Embassy in Manila arranged a series of meetings for me in February 2010. I went to Silicon Valley and met with Yahoo!, then on to Berkeley to see a University of California professor who is doing research on “digital neighborhoods”. I was also happy to have been to Automattic (the software company that owns WordPress, the world’s #1 blogging system), and others.

The best part of the San Francisco leg of the program was when I was invited to a local high school, where I was asked to talk to a group of seniors about blogging and social networking sites. It was very inspiring to see the spark in the eyes of the students when I talked to them of ready opportunities for self-publication and for livelihood through Internet technologies. This high school is in a section of town whose population is 80% Hispanic, and whose families are not exactly of the privileged class.

Meeting people from all over the world, and getting to know their unique perspectives, have expanded my world-view, and reaffirmed my commitment to the use of Internet tools for the betterment of the communities in which I’m involved. Also, my one-month stay in the United States has helped deepen my resolve to fight for true freedom. While I recognize that America has her own social, political and economic problems, what became plainly evident to me when I was there was the beauty of freedom borne out of a true democracy. It wasn’t the status of the U.S. as a first-world country that impressed me: it was how Americans are obviously self-aware and protective of their right to responsible freedom.

I’ve come away enriched with new experiences and knowledge after the IVLP fellowship. Now I hope I can impart what I’ve learned to my fellow bloggers, as well as to my colleagues in the media. Thanks to the State Department and to the U.S. Embassy in Manila, I foresee an even longer existence and deeper purpose for the Mindanao Bloggers Community.