As a response to the shift to online space brought by the current global health crisis, the OURmindaNOW Tech Camp goes digital for the first time.
This, after Equal Access International (EAI) Philippines and Plan International forged a partnership to host the Digital Tech Camp.
The Digital Tech Camp is designed to strengthen the capacity, reach, and visibility of these young peace influencers to create powerful, credible, culturally-relevant, scalable alternative narratives and pathways that build pro-social behavior, community resilience, inter-group dialogue, and civic empowerment in target communities. These gained skills from the Tech Camp shall reinforce advocacy in their socio-entrepreneurial initiatives under the Youth Innovate project of Plan International’s USAID-funded Marawi Response Project (MRP).
Tech Camps are at the heart of Equal Access International’s empowerment methodology which includes positive youth development approaches, as well as media literacy, social and behavior change communication (SBCC), and interactive modules to increase understanding and develop tools for transforming extremism.
For this year’s online Tech Camp, 30 student and youth leaders from the provinces of Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte are engaged to complete the four-week training divided into asynchronous and synchronous sessions starting on November 14, 2020. Participants will be divided into groups with select-peer mentors who are also Tech Camp alumni to guide them in their activities and digital learning experience.
A noticeable addition for this Digital Tech Camp are specific topics on Cybersecurity and Media Literacy being relevant in the current era of information and communication technology (ICT). These sessions are also in parallel with the topic on Critical Thinking- putting into practice the effective and responsible use of the internet and social media in spreading awareness and positive and alternative messages, and encouraging fellow youth for a call to action.
After completing the Tech Camp, these 30 young peace influencers will join the 115 pool of alumni from the previous four batches who completed last year.