MovePH welcomes new Movers for community action, local storytelling - Rappler

Already have Rappler+? Sign in to listen to groundbreaking journalism.

This is AI-generated. Read the article for full context. Report any errors.

MANILA, Philippines – To grow its network of changemakers and local community volunteers, Rappler’s civic engagement arm MovePH welcomed a new cohort of Movers to the program on Friday, October 2.

The expanded program seeks to equip local citizens not only to tell stories from their communities, but also to organize, collaborate, and mobilize their communities for social good. 

The new cohort was onboarded during MovePH’s first nationwide orientation for its volunteers dubbed, “Community in Action: An Orientation to the Movers Program.” The virtual event brought together more than 30 youth leaders, campus journalists, and advocates from communities across the country.

In her welcoming remarks, Rappler executive editor Glenda Gloria highlighted the crucial role of Movers.

She recalled how back in the glorious days of social media, volunteers online helped amplify the campaign for the freedom of Mary Jane Veloso by initiating an online petition and coordinating with organizations that had long been working on her case. 

At the time, those volunteers were not yet called Movers, Gloria said. “That’s when we decided on MovePH becoming the citizen arm of Rappler,” she added.

Gloria said the experience showed that journalists and communities have different but complementary roles in advancing issues and advocacies. 

By working together, volunteers can bring their networks and local knowledge, while journalists can help document and amplify stories.

“We journalists alone cannot do it. Communities and volunteers alone cannot do it. It takes a village not just to survive, but also to change the future,” Gloria said.

This was also echoed by Pia Ranada, Rappler’s head of community. In her message to the Movers, she highlighted the knowledge and experiences that communities bring to civic work.

“What is the superpower of communities? Lived stories,” Ranada said. 

She cited her work on public transportation accessibility as one example. Together with partner organizations and communities, they were able to examine the accessibility of Metro Manila’s train system for persons with disabilities. 

The groups helped identify gaps and develop an audit of features to make public transportation systems accessible to PWDs.

For Ranada, involving communities from the start helped ensure that the work reflected the experiences of people who actually use the system.

The same approach has been used in Rappler’s Corruption Watch initiative, where Movers and other volunteers helped verify information on infrastructure projects in their communities. Volunteers checked projects and information from their own localities, helping the newsroom track details that may otherwise be difficult to verify remotely.

“Communities are force multipliers, and journalists are force multipliers of communities,” Ranada said. “We were able to create an impact that perhaps alone we could not have done.”

Ranada said the partnership also allows journalists to bring community experiences to a wider audience through reporting.

“When you put the storyteller and the stories together…stories powerfully told can move mountains and make change happen,” she added.

Jene-Anne Pangue, head of MovePH, explained that the Movers Program is a volunteer-based leadership program that provides participants with skills, networks, and opportunities to work on issues in their communities.

Pangue became a Mover in 2014 after experiencing Supertyphoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in Tacloban City. “As a Mover back in 2014, I helped amplify the stories of my local community in Tacloban post-Haiyan together with my campus publication,” she said.

Drawing from her experience as a Mover and now as part of the MovePH team, Pangue said the expanded program is designed to sustain its local volunteer network while creating space for both storytellers and civic leaders.

“What really ties the community storytellers and civic leaders are actually the stories that we want to tell,” Pangue said.

The Movers Program also provides more avenues for Movers to hone their skills and build meaningful connections with others in the network.

“We don’t discount the fact that you are experts in your fields,” Pangue told Movers. 

Since 2012, MovePH has conducted more than 30 roadshows across the country, where communities and volunteers have participated in trainings and discussions on local issues and civic engagement.

The roadshows have been one way of training and recruiting Movers. Under the expanded program, volunteers can now apply to become Movers even without a roadshow being held in their area, while MovePH can continue organizing roadshows in different communities.

In recent years, Movers have supported coverage of local and national elections, anti-corruption efforts, Palarong Pambansa, and other major events in different parts of the country. Beyond event coverage, they have also highlighted inspiring actions, community initiatives, and advocacy efforts making a difference in their localities.

One of the new Movers is 21-year-old Shakira Mae Salas, an education student currently based in Aklan.

She plans to work on education access in upland communities through an initiative called “BundokAsyon” or Education for Students in Upland Areas.

She recalled traveling two to three hours from the town center and seeing classrooms with limited resources and teachers handling multiple grade levels in the same room.

“I want to achieve this initiative not just for those students in the upland areas to receive the education they want or they deserve, but also as a wake-up call for the local government of the struggle that the students and teachers have to endure every day,” she said.

Over the next few months, the new cohort will work with MovePH to highlight more local voices and stories, while supporting or leading community-led action. 

Interested in becoming a Mover? Apply now. – Rappler.com