2nd Visayas Blogging Summit in Cebu

By NANCY R. CUDIS
November 3, 2011

CEBU CITY  –  Bloggers are invited to join the 2011 Visayas Blogging Summit on Nov. 26, 2011 at SM City Cebu.

With the theme, “Blogging and Beyond”, the 2011 Visayas Blogging Summit – the second after its launch in Iloilo last year – highlights the value of blogging as a potent tool in community development and in encouraging community participation.

“The blogging phenomenon in the Visayas continues to grow, reinforced by the emergence of blogging organizations dedicated to professionalize the local blogging community. However, a lot of work still needs to be done,” Kevin Ray Chua, president of Cebu Bloggers Society Inc. (CBSi), said.

CBSi, a SEC-registered organization of Cebu bloggers committed to bring pride to Cebu through blogging, is the host and organizer of this year’s Visayas Blogging Summit.

Chua pointed out that through this summit, bloggers will be able to network with other fellow bloggers, be updated on the current Philippine blogosphere, and find opportunities to uphold the Bloggers’ Social Responsibility.

Ruben Licera Jr., vice president of CBSi, noted that while the Visayas blogging community mostly compose of individuals ages 14 to 35 who are daily engaged with the Internet, a large number of them still needs to be educated on the right decorum and ethics of social media.

“There is also a large portion of social media practitioners and bloggers who need to be empowered and tapped to contribute to community development and participatory governance,” he added.

The topics during the 2011 Visayas Blogging Summit will focus on empowering social media practitioners to be responsible citizen journalists and catalysts in their communities through new media. The summit will culminate with the Best Cebu Blogs Awards Night.

The following day, on Nov. 27, a Cebu Heritage Tour will take interested participants to various attractions in the province.

More than 250 bloggers from the Visayas are expected to attend the summit. Bloggers from Luzon and Mindanao are also invited to participate.

While the 2011 Visayas Blogging Summit is for bloggers maintaining a blog that is at least three months old with regular postings, CBSi is inviting students to join as part of its advocacy to promote the responsible use of social media.

The Visayas Blogging Summit, which was first organized by the Iloilo Bloggers in Iloilo City, is a gathering of bloggers in the Visayas to talk on issues and concerns related to blogging and discuss how to further make blogging an effective tool for community development.