SOCIAL MEDIA CAMP 2023; COLLABORATION FOR MEDIA EVANGELIZATION

November 30, 2023

Last November 18, 2023, the St. Jude Parish School located in Trece Martirez City, along with TV Maria - the first Filipino Catholic channel - and the Diocese of Imus Catholic Educational System (DICES) hosted the Social Media Camp 2023. The theme of the event was "Co-mission, G?" in line with their goals: to evangelize, to inform, and to reform.

The day began early with participant registration at 7:00 am. The event opened with remarks from Mr. Eric Bocalan, the school principal of St. Jude Parish School, who highlighted the purpose of the event. He emphasized the significance of the event for the youth, saying "The impact of social media on the lives of young people is huge."

Ms. Sharon Isla, the producer and supervisor of TV Maria, then gave her talk on setting the perspective. She emphasized the importance of using social media with the nine be-attitudes: be informed, be present, be open to encounters, be an attentive listener, be open to sharing, be dialogical, be influential not viral, be synodal, and lastly, be prophetic.

This was followed by three main talks from Ms. Isla's colleagues. Mr. Roberto Bahia, their technical supervisor, spoke about videography and live streaming. Mr. Jiggo Santos, their video editor, spoke about mobile videography. Lastly, Ms. Kat Diaz, the social media head, spoke about social media and content creation.

After the talks, the event concluded with the awarding of certificates to the speakers and a workshop activity. A competition was given to every school participating: to create a two-minute promotional video for their parish/school. The winners will be announced on December 1, 2023. To end the event, Father Alain P. Manalo, the director of St. Jude Parish School, gave the closing remarks.

The event marked the end of a journey and the start of a new mission for Catholic students. They were called upon to evangelize, as participants to inform, and as a community to reform.