The Philippines will be the first country to host “Peace Tech,” the world’s first videoconferencing talk show on peace building for youth that will be simultaneously launched today at 7:30 am -12:00 noon at the Nismed Auditorium, Nismed, Quirino Ave., UP-Dilliman, Quezon City and at the ULS Convention Hall, University of Southern Mindanao, Kabacan, North Cotabato.
Robin Pettyfer, Canadian manager for Peace Tech says, “Peace Tech is just as it sounds. It’s the peace in technology! We have the technology to unite people in a global talk show. So it’s time we start!”
Over the next several months, a series of “Peace Tech” will unite hundreds of youth from Mindanao, Luzon and the Visayas in live dialogs on giant screens that will serve as a modal for an international talk show that will connect youth from different countries on a regular basis.
UNICEF and the Australian Government, sponsors of the project said, they are using the talk show as an experiment with the goal of bringing different youth groups together, often divided by conflict. They added, “The series is badly needed in a world where conflict is on the rise. Whether it be between Israel and Lebanon, Iraq and the United States, the world needs an international medium that makes it easy for young people to come together to discuss their differences and misperceptions. “Peace Tech” does just that. It is an honor that the United Nations (UN) chose to start this here in the Philippines.”
According to the organizers, “Peace Tech” is particularly relevant to the Philippines where geography restricts inter-group dialogs. It gives young people in remote areas an opportunity to instantly reach out to fellow Filipinos and it provides security, by allowing participants to meet with other youth in insecure areas.
Participants to the “Peace Tech” series are inclusive of children and youth from all sectors: former MILF; AFP soldiers; Muslim, Indigenous Peoples, Christians; out-of-school youth; university students; and children from conflict zones and they come from all over the Philippines including: Zamboanga del Sur in the Zamboanga Peninsula; Maguindanao in the ARMM; North Cotabato in Socsargen; Lanao del Norte; Davao; Negros Occidental in the Western Visayas; Camarines sur in Bicol; Quezon and Cavite-Laguna in the Calabarzon; Nueva Ecija in central Luzon; Benguet and Mountain province in the Cordillera Administrative Region; and Isabela in the Cagayan Valley.
The 7-part videoconferencing series is led by the Assissi Development Foundation with a number of partners that include: Youth Aid, OPAPP, the AFP, the Young Moro Professionals and numerous groups, schools and colleges. UNICEF and the Australian Government are the primary funders of the project with the PLDT providing the satellite link technology for the videoconferencing.
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