by Ranjie Mae Nocete | February 8, 2023
Two students from the Silliman University (SU) College of Mass Communication (CMC) were elected as secretary and SU representative in the newly founded region seven writer’s guild Batang Kaparis ni Rizal (BATARIZ).
These Sillimanians were among the 30 campus journalists and youth leaders from schools across Central Visayas that comprise the writers’ guild spearheaded by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) region seven.
Elected SU representative and second-year student Nathaniel Carampatana said that the guild aims to write newsletters that feature “stories of hope,” focusing on development journalism.
Moreover, third-year student Justynne Keigh Dano elected as the secretary, said that this guild would serve “as a bridge” for the DILG to improve youth participation in local governance.
“For example, if there is a project by the DILG in our locality that has helped the community…we are the ones who will write a story, and those stories will be compiled as one to make a newsletter,” she said.
The three-day program “Bangon Kabataan: Improving Youth Participation in Local Governance” also comprised a journalism workshop with resource speakers for different fields of journalistic writing.
Dano and Carampatana shared that the guild is still in the process of finalizing its plans and is not yet in operation.
The workshop and program were held at the Cebu Parklane International Hotel from Dec. 14-16, 2022.
