To gain insights and extend the advocacy for peace journalism, the Ministry of Human Settlements and Development (MHSD) of the BARMM participated in the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Media and Advocacy Workshop on August 10-12, 2022 at DusitD2 Davao Hotel, Davao City.

Information Officer I Juwairiyah bint Emran Mohamad represented the MHSD among the Bangsamoro media, information and communication practitioners to join the discussion in drafting the terms of reference which identified areas of collaboration.

Presentations and discussions focused on the media’s role in advocating for women as participants and spearheads in peace and conflict resolution were shared throughout the three-day activity.

Resource Speakers for the presentations were Carolyn Arguillas, MindaNews Editor-in-Chief; Carol Rodriguez-Dawonlay viuda de Bello, United Nation Women Communication for Development Consultant; Louie Pacardo, UN Women Consultant, and; multi-awarded journalist Chiara Zambrano.

During the workshops, participants were asked to understand customers that would require their agency’s aide by creating an avatar representing a common constituent, how they discovered the agency’s services and how the agency can assist in realizing their needs.

IO Mohamad presented an abridged runthrough of the MHSD’s process on providing housing, which requires research on the location through site inspection, communication with local government units and residents on the community’s needs, budget allocation, and procurement process.

Formally opening the activity was message from Nery N. Ronatay, Programme Manager of the UN Women Philippines WPS, where he reminded the participants that peace journalists are solution oriented and make a stand that their stories contribute to peace.

Programme Manager Ronatay also shared background on the UNSecurity Council Resolution 1325, which included Prevention, Protection, Participation, Recovery and Relief, followed by a runthrough on the National and Regional Action Plans for WPS.

Ryce Chanchai, Team Lead for the ASEAN Governance Peace and Security of the UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, thanked the participants for attending the activity and assured the audience of the UN Women’s continuous support, as well as encouraged building connections and networking during the activity.

“As media practitioners, as people actually working in connecting with the public, bridging the gap between the policy makers like UN Women to the ordinary people, it is important to come together and hear potential areas where UN Women can work with, and support the technical enhancement of understanding WPS issues,” she emphasized.

Participants were comprised of Information Officers from the Bangsamoro League of Information Officers of the BARMM and Civil Society Organizations of Mindanao.

The activity was hosted by the UN Women Philippines in partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Global Affairs Canada.