*Mulat Pinoy-KNN to cover 7th APCRSHR*

The 7th Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and
Rights (APCRSHR) will be taking place in the Philippines on January 21-24,
2014 at the Philippine International Convention Center. Mulat
Pinoy-Kabataan News Network will be present at the conference as part of
its social media coverage committee, producing material from the event's
activities for posting in online venues.

The APCRSHR is an international conference that discusses critical issues
affecting sexual and reproductive health concerns, particularly in national
contexts across the Asia-Pacific region. The conference theme of “Examining
achievements, good practices and challenges: towards a strategic
positioning of SRHR for all” is in line with Mulat Pinoy-KNN's continuing
vision to help expand public awareness regarding issues relevant to young
people.

By having its reporters and video teams present during the conference, the
conference's social media coverage committee intends to supplement the
broader coverage of established media outlets. Photos, articles and video
interviews are intended to be among the coverage materials produced and
shared online. “Social media is everywhere now,” explains Mulat Pinoy-KNN's
editorial coordinator, Dante Gagelonia. “We should always recognize the
value of delivering credible information to as many venues as possible,
especially online. Since not everyone can physically attend the conference,
we want to be able to help disseminate its key points and messages through
social networks, in the hopes of reaching more people.”

Mulat Pinoy-Kabataan News Network is a population and development awareness
project of the Probe Media Foundation, Incorporated (PMFI). The Mulat Pinoy
project was created in 2009 to help deliver research-based information to
the public through online engagement and corresponding offline events, and
it has since evolved to focus on issues relevant to the youth, eventually
combining with Kabataan News Network (KNN), a related project of PMFI. The
Probe Media Foundation, in turn, is a non-profit organization dedicated to
improving the quality of media in the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific
region through training of professional and aspiring media practitioners.

Facebook: facebook.com/7thAPCRSHR
Twitter: @7thAPCRSHR
Blog: http://7thapcrshr.wordpress.com/
Hashtag: #7APCRSHR

For more information, please contact:

Regina Layug Rosero, Project Coordinator

regina@mulatpinoy.ph

Mulat Pinoy launches video contest on RH for the youth

The Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2011, more commonly referred to as the RH Bill, has been the subject of much discussion both on the floor of the Congress session hall and at dinner tables across the nation. At family reunions and office coffee breaks, in groups of clerics and activists, amongst rich and poor alike, every Filipino has an opinion.

But the sector most concerned, most affected by the issue of reproductive health, be it the RH Bill or simply the chance at maternal and child care, is the youth. It is the teenage mother, who at 16 is giving birth to her second child. It is the boy on the cusp of manhood, looking to prove his masculinity. It is the high school student, whispering to her barkada half-truths about condoms and pills and gonorrhea. It is the child, not even ten years old, who hears his parents having sex in the shanty he shares with five other siblings. It is the young woman who wants to wait until her wedding night before losing her virginity.

What do they have to say about reproductive health? Do they have anything to say? Do they want to say anything? Mulat Pinoy wants to know.

The “We Are Right Here. We Are RH.” video contest was launched on July 11, World Population Day. The contest seeks to give young people a say in the matter that affects them most. Young Filipinos aged 25 and below are invited to submit amateur videos between 90 seconds and 8 minutes in length, showing how they feel about the over 3.6 million teenage pregnancies in the Philippines, about condoms and contraceptives, about sex education, about visiting a gynecologist, about premarital sex, about virginity, about anything related to reproductive health. The deadline for entries is September 30, 2011.

“We Are Right Here. We Are RH.” is presented by Mulat Pinoy, in cooperation with the Philippine Center for Population and Development, the Probe Media Foundation, Inc., Forum for Family Planning and Development, the Likhaan Center for Women’s Health, the Philippine Legislators Committee on Population and Development, and the Philippine NGO Council on Population, Health and Welfare, Inc.

For more information, please visit http://www.mulatpinoy.ph/wearerh or send an email to wearer@mulatpinoy.ph.