As the May 2022 election nears, Far Eastern University's Institute of Arts and Sciences (IAS) is set to host its first-ever hybrid voter education event series from March 17 to April 4. The event will be held live at the Far Eastern University-Manila campus and live-streamed through Zoom following strict compliance with IATF protocols. 

Intensifying the campaign is the Department of Communication’s (DepComm) hybrid set-up installment wherein several key issues will be presented and tackled that may influence the views and empower the participation of students as electors in the upcoming 2022 election. DepComm promotes the interdisciplinarity of communication as a field of study and equips students with competencies to be dynamic and convergent, socially and morally responsible, critical and empowered – aligned with its mantra, “May Alam, May Pakialam.” 

Under the banner of IAS’ Voter’s Online Technology Education Series (VOTES), the conference marathon is a collective campaign effort by FEU-IAS faculty and students aiming to empower voter awareness in the community during the election season, said Francis Esteban, project lead. IAS envisions to produce highly principled leaders who are lifelong learners, problem solvers, effective communicators, and community-oriented and culturally rooted citizens. 

DepComm will officially launch "I Can See Your Vote: See-know ang karapat-dapat?" on Thursday, March 17, at 1:00 PM and will be live-streamed through Zoom on FEU DepComm’s official Facebook page. 

Each webinar session will be organized by fourth-year Bachelor of Arts in Communication students under the Special Projects class. This will be the department's first hybrid event in two years, spearheaded by Mr. Nikko Visperas, Cluster Head of the Convergent Media Track, DepComm. 

The four mini-conferences will address the need for issues specific to voter education which is critical in this age of misinformation and truth manipulation. DepComm presents four mini-conferences on the following themes: 

Mini Conference 1 

The first conference ‘Nanay, Tatay, gusto ng Red. Ate, Kuya, gusto ng Pink: The Voters and their Immediate Family Members’, will interview three couples with different preferences and will tackle the topic, ‘Discussing Varying and Conflicting Political Views within Family Members’. 

The session aims to address issues regarding varying political opinions within the family. This will be held on March 24, 2022. 

Mini Conference 2 

The second conference ‘I like to Prove It, Prove it: The Voters and their Social Environment’, will feature topics such as ‘Cutting Ties with Peers? They are Supporting a Convicted Candidate’, and ‘Handling Political Engagements with Strangers and Trolls’. 

This session will tackle how one should react around peers and trolls. This will be held on March 29, 2022. 

Mini Conference 3 

The third conference will be ‘There Can Be Miracles When You Believe: The Voters and their Social Media Consumption’, with topics such as ‘Identification of Satirical Online Pages from Legitimate News Sites/ Pages: How do we differentiate these two?’, ‘Falsification of Political Contents on Facebook: How do we know if these are altered quotes, graphics, and videos?’, and ‘Communication to Social Media Site Administrators: How do we report satirical pages and falsified contents?’. 

The session will talk about how the social media environment plays a huge role in how we view and understand politics, as well as the lack of it. This will be held on March 31, 2022. 

Mini Conference 4 

The event will conclude with its fourth and final conference ‘Let’s Vote In: The Voters and their Social Responsibility’, with topics such as ‘Empowering the Youth: The Power of Volunteerism in Political Campaigning’, ‘Standing Up for What is Right: Initiatives of Student Leaders in Promoting to Vote for the Right Leader’, and ‘Mga Maliliit na Pagpupulong Tungo sa Matalinong Pagboto’ - which summarizes the entirety of the event with highlights. It will also feature a panel discussion and will be held on April 4, 2022. 

Catch all of the sessions to learn, understand, and engage as responsible voters and empower to influence those within our reach in the upcoming 2022 National Elections. 

For more information on this year’s program, registration, and schedule of activities, please visit the FEU IAS Department of Communication Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/feudepcommofficial/). 

(Photo Courtesy of DepComm)