FEB 17, 2021 PHILIPPINES- ” It is my sincere hope that academic institutions, R&D Institutes and most especially, the private industries, will take time to consider employing R&D in their strategic plans. To the academic institutions, industry and government partners who are part of the Science for Change Program and the S4CP team in embracing the challenges of the new environment with an eye to the future. Let us continue making positive changes as we work to ensure that Science is For The Filipino People!” quoted words from Secretary Fortunato T. dela Peña (the Philippine’s Science and Technology Minister) Department of Science and Technology.
A lot of changes had happened during the two year onslaught of the corona virus since its alleged inception in China and it has affected countless lives, properties and the news media industry is no exemption. Most affected were newspapers, radio, television and the internet medium of news portals and social media pages.
Can we say that this is indeed the “new normal”? when governments around the world are saying that they will start inoculating the population to combat the spread of the corona virus sending a message to the world that the pandemic will soon be over.
The changes in the physical environment that are quite noticeable, especially in the field of mass media and the delivery of information amidst the overwhelming fact that the internet infrastructure in the country is deed terrible whereby the connections are very slow.
Yet this predicament does not in any way hinder the industriousness and resiliency of the Filipino and collectively as a people utilizing the natural intellectual capability to manually synergize with the current technology.
Pondering on the “good things” that the pandemic did to us, our sources says it did more good than harm”. It reunites separated lives, joined together fragmented families and siblings in a nutshell it made the family cohesive because of the fact that all of us were stuck in our houses for about a year or two hence on the eyes of the science community, this is a major victory.
“Thanks to Science” the discipline that often neglected now considered to be “trending”. In the last VOICE of PRESS organized and spearheaded by the peace advocate Korea-Based Non- Government Organization (NGO) Heavenly Culture World Peace Restoration of Light (HWPL) September 16, 2020 in which 16 journalists from 6 countries attended the virtual conference.
Each participant relate issues in their respective countries about social problems, job loss and proliferation of fake news other than societal issues related to public health and human security and human rights.
At the upcoming February 27, 2021 another HWPL initiated VOICE of PRESS will commence via zoom by which 5 countries ( Hongkong, Taiwan, Nepal, Indonesia and Philippines) will take part on discussions concerning the pandemic revolving on the theme “POST COVID 19 NEWS INDUSTRY TRANSFORMATION”
Discussing various ways on how their respective countries cope up with the pandemic, how they embraced opportunities and the best practices their respective government did in combating the corona virus without undermining professional integrity. HWPL’s VOICE of PRESS started November 2016 in which 22 journalists from Asia attended.
MJ Olvina- Balaguer of DZMJ Online, Makabuluhang Jornalismo your Happiness Channel +639053611058, maryjaneolvina@gmail.com