MANILA, Philippines — Facebook on Tuesday launched a nationwide digital literacy campaign that aims to train one million Filipinos by the end of 2020.
The initiative, “Digital Tayo,” is part of a broader campaign called “We Think Digital” that Facebook has introduced in Singapore and Argentina, with plans to bring the program to at least 10 countries altogether in the coming months.
But so far, the Philippine rollout was “undoubtedly the one that will reach the most people,” according to Facebook director of community affairs for the Asia-Pacific Region, Clair Deevy.
10 hours online
Filipinos spend an average of 10 hours a day online, the highest in the world, according to Facebook, citing a 2019 report by UK-based communications company, We are Social.
For the campaign, Facebook designed visual-heavy learning modules covering a wide range of topics—from knowing one’s digital footprint and ensuring password and data security, to spotting fake news—that can be presented offline or accessed for free on digital
tayo.fb.com.
Partner organizations
Facebook also tapped several civil society groups and government agencies, including the Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of Education and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, to facilitate the offline training sessions here.
Each of the 10 partner organizations would target a different sector of the community for the training, Deevy said.
While digital literacy has traditionally focused on equipping individuals with technical skills, Digital Tayo is concentrated on softer skills, such as how to examine information critically, how to communicate respectfully and how to display empathy on social media.