Taking aim at the youth

AFTER Generation X and Y comes Generation E – for Elections.

According to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), about half of the registered 50 million voters for the 2010 polls (up from 45 million in 2007) could be classified as youth (18 to 33 years old). That includes first-time voters, a fact that has led to the setting up of groups aiming to encourage young people to register for the elections and to become informed voters.

The First Time Voters Network (FTV), for instance, has spent the past several months conducting information drives to get, well, first-time voters to register. A conglomeration of youth and student organizations, the group has been working with Comelec to get approval for proposals, which have included establishing satellite registration centers, holding special Saturday registration sessions, and making registration forms available for online download. With registration now closed, FTV National Coordinator Paula Bianca Lapuz says the group has moved to working on creating a youth-agenda report card to guide young voters for choosing candidates.

FTV is one of the partners of Youth Vote Philippines, a coalition of partisan and non-partisan youth organizations. Apart from voters’ registration and education efforts, Youth Vote project coordinator Justine Castillo says that the group is also developing a youth agenda for policy-making and action, based on the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. The Youth Vote online portal thus highlights the presidential candidates and tracks their platforms against each of these goals.

There are, however, some groups that have been around for sometime now and are acknowledged veterans in activities to get the youth going. According to Gang Badoy of RockEd Philippines, the key is bringing the message directly to the youth. RockEd, a volunteer organization that provides venues and organizes events for alternative education, has had success in highlighting various social issues through unconventional channels, such as bars, rock radio, social-networking sites, and pocket concerts at MRT stations. For the 2010 polls, RockEd is preparing a new website, SinongMasOkey.org, aimed at reaching young voters by speaking in a language they can understand.

A public service ad produced by RockEd

This is also the goal of Blogwatch.ph, a group of bloggers dedicated to covering the 2010 elections. (See PCIJ story “Bloggers band together for election watch at Blogwatch.ph“) Blogwatch.ph project director Noemi Lardizabal-Dado is obviously a firm believer in the growing importance of online media in Philippine society. According to Lardizabal-Dado, some 40 percent of Filipinos who go online read blogs, which reach audiences who don’t necessarily read traditional media.

But she says there’s a difference between Blogwatch.ph and other groups: her organization does not focus only on the youth; its members range from teenagers to the senior citizens.