Human Rights

FNF Philippines and AHRC capacitate campus journalist in human rights reporting

With student journalists being in the forefront of reporting issues rooted in human rights concerns, Friedrich Naumann Foundation Philippines and Ateneo Human Rights Center (AHRC) conducted the Rights in Focus: The Human Rights for Campus Journalism Lecture Series Caravan with five partner schools.

Findings from the previous phase of Project Human Rights Lens, a continuing initiative also supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation Philippines, revealed that a significant number of campus journalists continue to experience difficulty in identifying human rights issues in their coverage and in applying rights-sensitive and ethical reporting frameworks. These gaps point to the need for deeper, more accessible, and sustained capacity-building interventions among campus journalists.

The Rights in Focus: The Human Rights for Campus Journalism Lecture Series Caravan responds to this identified need by providing targeted human rights education in the context of journalism that brings learning opportunities directly to campuses. The lectures also respond to the issue of student journalists facing increasing pressures such as censorship, digital harassment, and misinformation.

The lecture series caravan, participated by about 300 student journalists, held its first leg in the University of the Philippines in partnership with Philippine Collegian, second leg at Far Eastern University Manila in partnership FEU Advocate, third leg at De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde in partnership with The Benildean, and fourth and fifth leg in Ateneo Law School in partnership with The La Sallian and Perpetualite (Perpetual Manila).

Some of the speakers for the lectures were Ms. Rowena Paraan of Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, Mr. Carlos Conde, a human rights journalist, Prof. Wayne Winter Uyseco of FEU Department of International Studies, Ms. Zen Hernandez, broadcast journalist from ABS-CBN, Ms. Flordeliz Abanto, Deputy Executive Director of Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipjnas, and Ms. Lian Buan, journalist who covered several corruption stories.

Topics discussed include Fundamentals of Human Rights Reporting, Basics Against Red-Tagging and State-Level Threats, Safety Nets in Campus Journalism: Protecting the Press in the Age of Digital Attacks; Rights-based and Rights-sensitive Story Gathering Practices; Navigating the Journalism Act: Mapping the Legal Boundaries of a Campus Publication; Campus Publication Management; Global Conflicts and Why It Matters to Journalism; A Practical Guide to Crisis and Conflict Reporting for Campus Journalist, Journalists as Watchdogs: Exposing Corruption and Fraud; and Practical Guide on Investigating and Reporting Corruption and Accountability.

Atty. Nicolene Arcaina, Executive Director of AHRC, challenged the student journalists to push back in the face of increasing pressure around the shared work of human rights defenders, advocates, journalists, and student journalists.

“In the face of red-tagging, censorship, and resource cuts for student publications, we speak and demand; in the face of impunity, we hold powers-that-be accountable; in the face of our own Government running away and tripping over its own greed and violence, we confront,” said Arcaina.

In partnership with the participating schools, the project also developed information, education, and communication (IEC) materials on human rights–based campus journalism. These materials will serve as tangible resources for public dissemination, particularly for campus journalists.

The caravan is the third phase of Project Human Rights Lens aimed at strengthening human rights–based journalism in campus press.