CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – three years went by in a flash, and their passion to serve Mindanao on the journey of peacebuilding burns brighter than ever.

“I Am Mindanao”;  in their desire for a peaceful and united Mindanao, Development Communication (DevCom) student leaders at Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan initiated this campaign to eradicate violent extremism in 2016.

The campaign began on social media chiefly driven at educating the youth of Cagayan de Oro City and its neighbors in the region, to revitalize their pride as Mindanaoans, and to empower the millennials in peacebuilding and nation-building initiatives wherever they are.

From students in college during the first installment, to senior high school in the next, and eventually the junior high school – in each season, the campaign’s main beneficiaries were getting younger.

After three years of going around the island of Mindanao, in efforts to share their know-how and positive experience in the process of peace education, I Am Mindanao comes home.

“Our research shows that the family is the first peacebuilding arena,” said Mr. Marvin N. Pamisa, I Am Mindanao (Season 3) campaign leader and this season’s team moderator, “… [and] in the Filipino culture, the family is primarily moved by the mother.”

In line with the idea that the campaign is dedicated to cultivating good seed on fertile soil, the team of I Am Mindanao shifted their focus onto the origin of all youth – the mother in the family.

He added, “Just as we all come from our mothers, we [the I Am Mindanao team] believe in the premise that there is no peace-loving individual without a peace-loving mother; and we decided to start with that.”

“The fourth wave of the campaign has been about working for the mothers and with the mothers, empowering them through [peace] education, because we cannot empower if we do not educate,” Pamisa shared, “[It is] not that we overhauled, but rather, simply, that the change was not what our audience expected.”

“It has been very fulfilling that the change we thought was dangerous, as it was a risk for us to engage in the same campaign with the major changes that we made,” stated Pamisa.

The I Am Mindanao team state that they have not deviated from their goal of peace and unity in Mindanao; they are simply taking a newer path towards the same destination.

Mamshies of Mindanao

In 2016 and the succeeding seasons, the campaign was carried out with a series of activities, as organized by the teams then with a handful of volunteers, which included a youth communicators’ camp, seminars, informative social media content, offline exhibit and other engaging projects in an effort to counter violent extremism with the youth as the primary beneficiaries and agents of peace-building.

Filipinos are a family-orientated people with closely-knit communities.

Banking on this, I Am Mindanao opted to repackage itself in a more approachable, ‘homey’ and sweet manner; hence, the change in content and strategy.

From appearance to approach, the team reinvigorated the campaign’s flame and identity online on social media, and on the ground in 2019.

Today’s I Am Mindanao is the friendly neighbor of every ‘Mamshie of Mindanao’, extending a helping hand and sharing a positive voice to mothers in their struggle to build peace at home.

From ‘E.S.E.’ – educate, strengthen, and empower with the youth as the primary target, the campaign’s strategy of approach has now changed with the mothers of Mindanao.

“This time it is about [to] reach, educate, and gather; to reach mothers, educate them, and gather stories from them and their children.” said Pamisa as regards their activities online and offline.

Truly, the campaign did not complete deviate from helping build peace with their previous main beneficiaries, the youth, with the “My Mama, My Peace Hero” project.

Online, this project, which was also a competition, gathered about 600 stories and sets of photos from youth all over the Philippines.

These stories ranged from simple joyful and energizing experiences to painful but fulfilling times they had with their mothers – all of which highlighted the sacrifices, joys and travails of family life, and the heroism of motherhood.

Being primarily an online or social media-based campaign, I Am Mindanao worked extensively to spread positive messages for peace and nation-building and reached over 1.2 million people on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Mamshies for Peace

The team members of the current (fourth) installment of the campaign, with the help of volunteers and individuals involved in the past, spared no efforts offline as they did on social media.

The process of helping the Mamshies of Mindanao becoming active ‘Mamshies for Peace’ and reached nearly 1,500 mothers offline, from the initial target of 500, in the entire Baungon Municipality and the City of Cagayan de Oro.

This was done with a series of celebrations to uplift the mothers entitled “Mamshies of Mindanao”, engaging seminars for and sharing sessions between the mothers entitled “Mamshies for Peace”, which were followed by a community broadcasting activity called “Mothers Listen” to keep the mothers updated on practical advice and significant current knowhow in helping build peace at home.

In addition to the local government unit of the Municipality of Baungon and several Barangays in Cagayan de Oro City, I Am Mindanao also partnered with DXIMRadio and WinRadio in sharing their advocacy of building peace at home for a unified Mindanao.

Bringing ‘I Am Mindanao’ across global borders

Among the most vulnerable members of society are women and children.

This includes mothers and the youth worldwide.

The I Am Mindanao campaign’s efforts have not only borne fruit in the youth, mothers, and the communities it has touched, but even in the hearts of the EdVenture Partners – the officiators of the Peer to Peer: Facebook Global Digital Challenge which has been consistently participated in by over 140 universities all over the world.

The challenge was to prepare and to carry out campaign on countering violent extremism and hate speech with Facebook as the primary platform.

The campaign team has shared their immense gratitude in being blessed the privilege of being the top finalist for the final presentation of the campaign in Brussels, Belgium, on March 23-25 this year, 2019.

Being today’s friendly neighbor for our Mamshies for Peace, I Am Mindanao is now ‘homey’ and sweet.

I Am Mindanao shares its renewed vigor, homeliness, and sweetness with the world.

Pamisa shared that, “Wherever you are, and you remember your mother. We, I Am Mindanao, continue our work with the mothers. Without the family, without the mother, the house is not a home. Just as the saying goes, ‘home is where the heart is’.”

I Am Mindanao is home.