Facebook, together with its partners, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Tourism (DOT), held a three-day Community Boost event in Manila, attended by over 700 entrepreneurs, government representatives, and community leaders.
Facebook Community Boost is a global initiative that aims to equip entrepreneurs, non-profit organizations, and youth leaders, with tools and learning resources so they can develop critical skills they need to grow their businesses, promote their advocacies and causes, and reach the audiences that matter most to them.
“Empowering people to build communities is core to our mission at Facebook. It’s what drives us to build tools and resources for inspiring community leaders and entrepreneurs who work hard to bring people together around shared passions, common causes, and important topics,” said Facebook Philippines country director John Rubio. Facebook Community Boost provides a holistic approach to empowering local communities with a wide range of content–from digital marketing, digital literacy and safety, driving online advocacies, to mentoring and supporting youth leaders on responsible digital citizenship.
Building Communities
Facebook Community Boost also showcased the culture-building impact of the platform, as exemplified by Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan Development Communication Society (XU DevCom Society), one of the top teams at last year’s Facebook’s Digital Youth Summit (DYS) 2018.
XU DevCom Society launched #OperationHeartAttack through #TheSMLProject (SML stands for Social Media Literacy and at the same time, for “so much love” in millennial speak). They encouraged their community to spread love (heart emojis ❤️) online instead of showing hatred, and the campaign got more than 5k engagements online.
“DYS provided us with guidance from mentors and additional resources for shaping our advocacy and enhancing our activities. And through #TheSMLProject, we were able to raise awareness on the importance of a culture of positive reinforcement on social media, and turning away from the online mob mentality,” said Jalen Elarmo of XU DevCom Society.
Bayan Academy for Social Entrepreneurship and Human Resource Development (BASE-HRD or Bayan Academy) started as a small non-profit organization that had an ambitious mission to reach as many aspiring entrepreneurs from marginalized communities all over the Philippines.
“Ultimately, Bayan Academy’s goal is to reach aspiring Filipino entrepreneurs in the grassroots and empower them with the critical, entrepreneurship, and management skills they need to find sustainable livelihood and improve their living standards. We want to introduce them with technologies and tools to start their business, grow their audience, and meet their goals,” said Bayan Academy executive director and COO Philip Felipe.
The event also aims to help participants connect with like-minded individuals and organizations. Entrepreneur Celia Alamo Jacob has transformed her start-up Brownroots Creatives with the help of Facebook’s #SheMeansBusiness, another of the social media company’s digital literacy training initiatives organized with Connected Women.
“I started my shirt printing business in 2007 and have also offered ‘Business in a Box’ workshops for work from home moms, freelancers, and creatives. We support budding entrepreneurs from setting up a small online store, assisting them through design mock-ups, all the way to drop shipping. And through the #SheMeansBusiness events I attended, I was able to connect with like-minded women who want to update their skills and thrive in the digital world,” said Celia.
Celia now passes on the digital marketing knowledge and skills she picked up from these events in her own business coaching and workshop sessions.
Facebook Community Boost events were recently held in Cebu and Dumaguete and is heading to Davao City on November 22 to cap off its run for the year. To learn more about the event please visit: https://www.facebook.com/boost or register for the event in Davao here.