Facebook, the Philippines’ favorite social media platform, prescribes a digital literacy movement called “Digital Tayo.”

In line with the We Think Digital global program launched in March 2019, Digital Tayo is a localized version of this program that aims to teach Filipinos about how to stay safe and secure online, how to handle things like hate speech and avoid disinformation. The goal of Digital Tayo is to train 1 million Filipinos by 2020.

According to Simon Milner Facebook’s Vice President of Public Policy for APAC, their goal is not just to train and enhance the digital skills of Filipinos. Facebook also wants to learn how they can make themselves better and build communities.

“This is a representation of how important communities are for Filipinos how important it is for you and your country all the citizens to connect and share what’s happening,” Milner said.

“We know we can learn from the country where people are so engaged on the platform and ensure the services we provide are giving enriching experiences,” he added.

Modules and partners

To deliver the program to the correct target audience, Facebook has partnered with several government agencies and socio-civic organizations.

One of their partners is the Department of Education to reach students and youth leaders. They have also partnered with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration for overseas Filipino workers. They have also tapped the Department of Information and Communications Technology and other civil society partners to engage the local communities.

The program is divided into four modules, namely:

1. What Is the Internet: How the internet and social media works and how one can be a good digital citizen.
2. Your Digital Footprint: How to be safe and secure online. How to manage your digital footprint.
3. Be a Critical Thinker: How to discern different types of information. How to develop critical thinking and empathy for online communication.
4. You as a Digital Citizen: Knowing the differences between interacting online versus offline. Knowing your online rights and responsibilities. Knowing netiquette, copyright and plagiarism, etc.

More information about #DigitalTayo can be found on Facebook’s We Think Digital Philippines website.

According to Clair Deevy, Facebook’s Director of Community Affairs for the Asia Pacific region, being empathic online is a very valuable skill.

“There is a greater need to consider how we are plugging into a global community and connecting with people, not just information,” Deevy said.

Connected Women Supports Digital Literacy  

With Connected Women’s role in creating a network of women who support one another by opening doors of opportunities, Connected Women supports Facebook’s path to digital literacy.

In 2018, Connected Women launched a specially-designed free digital marketing eCourse for women who want to pursue an online career in digital marketing. The first eCourse is a custom learning path on the Facebook Blueprint platform. The course content content has been curated by Connected Women and is designed to help online freelancers learn digital marketing skills for Facebook and Instagram.

Digital or online jobs have been growing the past decade, with more and more companies and entrepreneurs relying on virtual teams. As such, it is important for Filipinos to enhance their digital literacy and skills to be competitive in this market.

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