The Ministry of Human Settlements and Development, represented by Information Officer III Salembai A. Abdullah and Information Officer I Juwairiyah bint Emran Mohamad, took part in the Speakers Bureau held at the Glamour Convention Hall, Cotabato City on February 16, 2021.

Hosted by the Bangsamoro Information Office (BIO), with support from the United Kingdom Government, and The Asia Foundation, the activity that was on ‘Communication in the New Media Landscape’, provided further insights on communication and the various platforms government news stories can be presented, as well as better ways to communicate with the stakeholders who, the Bangsamoro employees serve.

Visual Journalist and Educator Veejay Villafranca delivered a field guide to visual journalism and shared his experiences in the field of photography and delivering stories without words.

British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) Philippines Correspondent Howard Johnson presented tips and samples on how to tell better stories, sharing background on BBC’s work ethics, as well as his own stories across the Philippines.

The program also included prerecorded video presentations from resource persons Commission on Elections Spokesperson James Jimenez, Social Weather Stations Fellow-in-Residence and Board Member Dr. Steven Rood and ABS-CBN News Public Service Division Head Ms. Rowena Paraan.

“The event was very helpful in opening my eyes as to how to better write articles and interact with the Bangsamoro. As a newly developed ministry, having merged separate agencies in the past, we could stand to learn so much from events like these, and be reminded that, even though we work for the Bangsamoro to serve the Bangsamoro, we must also remember that we are also Bangsamoro who are being served, and we have to view our services in such perspective”, Information Officer I Mohamad said, sharing her insights on the program.