Blog Action Day 2008 Philippines, a success

Maraming salamat po. For non-Filipinos, that’s “thank you” for you.

Thank you for participating, one way or another, to the Blog Action Day 2008 Philippines held yesterday Oct. 15.

We in Bloggers Kapihan are both humbled and made proud that Filipino bloggers responded to our belated call to action.  This site was put up Sunday night and we only started popularizing it Monday. Some of us texted and emailed all our personal friends, in a last-ditch effort to drum up interest in this cause. It is thus our joy to see many responded to our call and that of the US-based network which led the global effort.

We mentioned last Monday that the Philippines leads many Asian countries in blogging and in social networking. We cannot underestimate its effects if and when we redirect our energies towards aiding the poor and the marginalized, to championing their legitimate causes, and, of course, to offer ourselves and our blogs to having their lives and struggles featured.

What we hoped to achieve is rather modest. We wanted to veer the discussions and conversations in the Philippine blogosphere towards poverty — the causes, directions, solutions, etc. We also knew it would be difficult for many bloggers to do so simply because there are plenty of other topics that are more popular and more likable. Others may be hampered by the deadly academic schedules for both students and teachers. But bloggers delivered and they posted their views on poverty.

For that, for taking time out to think and express yourselves on poverty, we thank you.

Now the question is, what’s next. What’s next for the advocacy on poverty? What should we do now?

To be completely honest, we in Bloggers Kapihan have not discovered or agreed on a “final solution” to poverty. But our openness to discussing this social problem is already a step in the right direction. Yes, let’s discuss it further. Our continued discussion and our new discoveries about poverty may surprise us, debunk the “truths” that we have long believed, wake us from our oftentimes dismissive attitude towards the poor, and hopefully bring us out there — yes out there — to the poor who have not been heard ironically on the Blog Action Day that was devoted to the plague that afflicts them.

In that vein, the Blog Action Day 2008 can be considered a success. A success in opening our minds and hearts to the practical and urgent task of offering ourelves and our blogs to national and social concerns.