POLITICALLY WEDNESDAY: I Am Change 2010 Gears Up to Empower the Youth

Less than two years into election day 2010, the FIlipino youth is gearing up and aligning to create change in the country and empower fellow youth. Empowerment does not only mean that the youth will take up the street and hold rallies and noise barrages but also do meaningful contribution to the country. The campaign is headed by Team RP, a youth-led, reform-oriented initiative that advocates and pro-actively works for Truth, Accountability and Reform in governance.

So what is in store for us with I Am Change 2010?

Beginning August 2008, the start of COMELEC's voter registration season, they will launch the IamChange2010 Privilege Card for certified registered voters. This card shall provide its owner access to the coolest events, freebies and discounts. Registered voters who want to avail of the Privilege Card can do so during the road shows that IamChange2010 will hold during the course of the campaign.

Following this is a national bi-monthly caravan with partner universities and youth organizations. The caravan shall feature concert tours, coffee sessions, sports tournaments, arts competitions in at least seven key cities around the country.

Every other month, IamChange2010 will hold events in Bulacan, Pampanga, Bacolod, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Subic and Metro Manila. These events will be adapted according to the needs and interests of the youth of each city. Concerts featuring the country’s top artists and bands as well as local bands will give us a setting for educational sessions to further pique the interest of the Filipino youth in the elections.

In addition to concerts, IamChange2010 will hold coffee sessions for young professionals to provide an avenue for an exchange of ideas and knowledge between and among the working people. In addition to music and intellect, IamChange2010 will tap into the sports and art world of the youth. There will be tournaments, competitions, and exhibition games that will attract today’s fit, healthy, and creative minds.

The road shows will be a one-day affair to be held on weekends, in cooperation with local government units and youth organizations.

Extensive online initiatives, meanwhile, shall be equipped with candidate profiles and issue briefs to ensure an informed choice, with the message reaching even Filipinos abroad. These will be further broadcasted through prime radio and internet spots. They are targeting a 30-minute slot every week in a leading FM radio station to use in interviewing politicians and other possible candidates on their views on various local and national issues.The goal for this radio talk show is to capture and sustain the youth audience by having young hosts and guests that will ultimately answer questions in a way that the youth can understand.

The campaign will also utilize the most popular online sites for the youth: the social networking sites like Friendster, MySpace, Twitter and more. For those young professionals who cannot let a day pass without signing on to their email account, IamChange2010 will be sure to let them know the updates and latest happenings with the campaign through weekly e-newsletters and RSS feeds from the blogs at iamchange2010.com. They will set up our own website where we will post profiles of potential leaders, blogs of both first-time and “experienced” voters, forums for discussions of the current events, the IamChange2010 calendar of events, and other election- and youth-related matters.

IamChange2010 will also include a Countdown to 2010 Billboard/Outdoor Ad. It will be put up approximately twelve months before Election Day, and will feature young Filipino voters, a challenge to them to be part of the change.

Surely, there are lots to look forward to in IamChange2010 so be part of it and be part of the change.