Thursday, April 26, 2007 Toral: Volunteer in the 2007 elections By Janette Toral Digital Filipino
A FEW weeks ago, we all saw the ad campaign of VforCE or 1 Million Volunteers for Clean Elections. I posted an ad about it in our blog and encouraged friends to help spread the word or even join at http://vforce.multiply.com.
Early this week, a representative from the local parish called me to ask if I could help out in the data encoding immediately after the elections. They need six volunteers. I agreed and had my daughter help out as well.
The growing adoption of information and communications technology today can get more and more Internet users actively involved in the coming elections.
This includes sharing your computer for use in the quick counting in the local parishes, joining blogging efforts to consolidate and disseminate quick count results of various parishes, reporting any irregularities within your area either through blogging or posting a video using YouTube and taking pictures and sharing it through them through photo sites such as Flickr.
The other things you can do to help can include bringing snacks or food so that your local volunteers won’t have to worry about it. You can also provide transportation so that local volunteers can go home safely.
Doing these things may sound easy but require a lot of effort. It should be done on an hourly basis, round-the-clock and covering as many municipalities as possible.
That is why it is important for efforts to be coordinated so that volunteers won’t end up flocking to a particular area.
Find out all the election watching efforts being done by your local parishes today and find out how you can participate in any small or big way.
Our elections are becoming critical and fragile.
The Filipino’s active involvement is a key in gradually regaining trust in the electoral process. We should believe, support and participate in it.
Web Awardees. Last week, I talked about the ADOC Awards 2007. The winners are now posted online at http://www.digitalfilipino.com. Congratulations to Cebu-based Itzamatch (http://www.itzamatch.com) and Cebu Rattan Company for winning the social networking and home furnishings category. I hope to see more winners from Cebu in the years to come.
