Facebook Praises DFA Campaign on Global Filipinos for Good Practice

TAGUIG CITY 23 October 2019 — Online social networking site Facebook has commended the #GlobalFilipino campaign of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for its practice of showcasing authentic, relatable content at its First Government Summit on 23 October 2019 at Grand Hyatt Manila.

At the event, Facebook Politics and Government Outreach Manager for Asia-Pacific Roy Tan gave tips on how to create engaging content for users of Facebook. He mentioned that posts should have "stories that engage" and the DFA's #GlobalFilipino campaign, along with two other government pages of other countries, was highlighted as a good example of such content.

The post cited during the Summit was that of a member of the Filipino-American community, who migrated to the United States in the 1980s. Like many other Filipinos who migrated to the US, the person featured, whose name is withheld due to privacy, found a sense of belongingness as a Filipino in a foreign country by being active in church where she convened with other Filipinos. Her story resonates with many other Filipinos who have moved to other countries but still find ways to connect with their roots.

Another profile that garnered many "likes" in the series is that of a young Filipino man who was born and bred in Greece and yet maintains his Filipino identity. Just like what his parents did to raise him, he says, "When I become a parent, I will make sure that my children will not be alienated from the Filipino culture and language. I will make sure that they possess genuine Filipino values such as saying 'po' and 'opo,' and pagma-mano or the honor-gesture."

The #GlobalFilipino campaign was launched by the DFA this year to tell the story of some of the over ten million Filipinos all over the world from all walks of life. It picks up from the DFA's earlier campaign, “Filipinos Around the World" in 2016. The #GlobalPinoy campaign is posted on the DFA’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages. END