“Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” ~ Margaret Mead
I’ve been a citizen advocate since 2009 as a co-founder of Blogwatch, a small group of concerned citizen bloggers who are trying to make a difference in society and government. You can find my articles at blogwatch.ph (archives) and blogwatch.tv (current).
Prior to 2017, my advocacy-related social media posts were combined with my other blogging posts under the handle @philippinebeat. This 2017, as I continue to participate more actively in engaging government and civil society, I have decided to use the handle @citizenjaneph just for my advocacy posts and articles. Easier to manage and search.
I was actually inspired to use @Citizenjane because I remembered an old movie called Citizen Kane. I never imagined that an actual movie called Citizen Jane would be made just a few weeks after I established my new handle. And guess what. Not only is it garnering a 92% rating over at Rotten Tomatoes (a popular movie review site) but Rotten Tomatoes describes the plot as “a timely tale of what can happen when engaged citizens fight the power for the sake of a better world.” Serendipity!!!
Recently, I have been posting thoughts and opinions on my Facebook page — most of them too short for full-blown articles on Blogwatch. I will share them here as well and hopefully, find time for longer articles too.
We are now in the age of social media and you and I have online voices to make a difference. I hope that more and more citizens see how much empowerment they have on their hands through social media and online engagement with government and the private sector.
Let’s do our part, no matter how small, to be participatory citizens with government. Let’s give them credit (a pat on the back) for actions that we think are good for us and still not hesitate to give constructive criticism for those that we do not agree with.
In the end, the success of any government is the success of the nation. The opposite holds as well.
Choose to participate and engage!
Here are my advocacy social media accounts. Hope to see you there.
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/citizenjaneph
Twitter/Instagram: @citizenjaneph