Girl Talk : Let the Voices of the Youth Be Heard

A presscon was recently held to to culminate the nationwide campaign, “Your Voice, Your Move,” MODESS® Philippines unveiled at The Mind Museum in Bonifacio Global City a special edition publication called “Girl, Talk” – a compilation of messages for the country’s leaders from teen girls who were too young to vote in the recent elections. The clincher? These books will be delivered to the offices of our senators for their serious consideration.

“Sana bigyan nila ng pansin ang mga kabataang nasa kalye,” said Joyce.

“Hopefully we can have enough equipment like books, electric fans, and desks in every school,” said Yssa.

Deannie says: “Lahat ng sinasabi ng running senators ay importante sa tao. So, sana lahat din ay galing sa puso.”

Common themes ranged from responsible leadership, to improving education, to cleaning the Pasig, and caring for the sick and malnourished. If the breadth and depth of the youth’s comments collected in this book are any indication, then today’s youth are made of more serious stuff than we think.

“It is unfortunate that young girls are commonly viewed by adults as self-absorbed, indifferent and shallow. But MODESS® found an eye-opening insight about teenagers that challenges the way adults see them. We found that teens actually want to do big and meaningful things. What hinders them from moving and making that impact is the limited perception that society has of them,” explains Nikka Arcilla, MODESS® Assistant Brand Manager and Campaign Lead. “We at MODESS® believe that young girls have a huge potential to make a meaningful difference in the world around them. They just need a little nudge and the opportunity to make their move.”   

There are roughly eight million teenage girls in the Philippines, comprising almost 10% of our population. These eight million girls represent a potential eight million innovative ideas that can benefit the country.  

The MODESS® “Your Voice, Your Move” Campaign, launched in early 2013, gave these young girls that chance to speak out and have a say in the May elections, even if they could not officially vote. Teens were invited to write a shout-out message to senators on the #MakeYourMove website (makeyourmove.com.ph), so that they themselves could tell senators what change they want to see in the country. This was perhaps one of the few times teens were given the venue to contribute to an event that they are normally excluded from – national elections.

“But we didn’t want to just give teens a platform to speak up and break that shallow stereotype that adults have of them. We also wanted to make sure that these messages would be heard by the right people and be acted upon.  That is why we produced the book, ‘Girl, Talk’, which was essentially written by hundreds Filipina teenagers,” adds Nikka.  

Campaign ambassadors Bea Binene, Louise de los Reyes and Barbie Forteza

 Anna Oposa from Save Philippine Seas, Paulina Miranda from the UP Diliman College of Education, Rachel Racelis from the University of Makati and Eligh Yu from Leaders International Christian School 

In the unveiling of the book to media, youth leaders, and the MODESS® online community, campaign ambassadors Bea Binene, Louise de los Reyes and Barbie Forteza read their own quotes from the book, and talked to the press about why they feel strongly about these issues. Thought influencers, Anna Oposa from Save Philippine Seas, Paulina Miranda from the UP Diliman College of Education, Rachel Racelis from the University of Makati and Eligh Yu from Leaders International Christian School also responded to other quotes and narrated their own experiences as drivers of change, thus encouraging today’s young girls to do the same.

“This initiative is unique and particularly timely with the recent declaration of a new crop of our country’s leaders.  This is the Philippines’ time to shine, and all of us – including our young people – should be part of the change for an even better Philippines,” said L.A. Ferriols who hosted the celebration.

Culminating the launch event was a dramatic send-off of the actual books to our national leaders, with the challenge for them to make their move, since teens had just made theirs.

“We believe in the power of the youth, and are a proponent of the positive impact that teenagers can make.  In the recently-concluded May 2013 elections, these teens were too young to be heard.  Through MODESS® and “Your Voice, Your Move,” we gave them an avenue to stand up, speak up, and make a difference.  We hope that through this campaign, MODESS® inspires even more teens to make their move,” said Tina Sabarre, Johnson & Johnson Marketing Director.