Calling all amateur auteurs! As part of its population and development (popdev) advocacy campaign, Mulat Pinoy is launching Pop-I, a short video contest focusing on the public's perception of key population issues. 

A joint program of Probe Media Foundation, Inc. (PMFI) and the Philippine Center for Population and Development (PCPD), Mulat Pinoy has been actively engaging the public—discerning youth voters in particular—about population dynamics and its impact on various economic and social concerns. Mulat Pinoy's election initiatives included a series of 8 Kapihan sessions on popdev issues, candidate profiles and scorecards identifying their popdev agenda, and the website www.mulatpinoy.ph

Moving forward from engaging voters, Pop-I aims to push Mulat Pinoy's popdev agenda further by making the issue go viral. "Social media and accessible digital technology have brought about the rise of citizen journalism," says Yasmin Mapua-Tang, Executive Director of PMFI. "This past election has seen an unprecedented level of coverage and participation from the Filipino online community, and we hope to encourage our local bloggers and social network users to continue online conversations about key issues like population and development."

The contest is open to any Filipino citizen with a registered YouTube account. Entries must be 30 to 90 seconds long, and creatively answer one or both of these controversial popdev questions:

Round One: "Masusunog ka ba sa impyerno kung gumamit ka ng condom
(Will you burn in hell if you use a condom)?"

Round Two: “Paano ka makakahanap ng trabaho kung ang dami mong karibal? (How can you find a job if there are so many applicants?)”

An expert panel of journalists and popdev advocates will screen the entries. A Flip Camera and other fun prizes await the winners, whose videos will be screened at the awarding ceremony on June 19. The deadline for uploading entries is on June 4, 2010.

While population and development issues go beyond contraceptives and employment, the Mulat Pinoy initiative hopes that the Pop-I video contest will highlight these as major points of concern for the Filipino public. The videos generated by the Pop-I video contest will provide a clearer picture of popular opinion on popdev, and perhaps help policymakers and advocates in evaluating their public outreach efforts.

For more information on Pop-I contest mechanics, visit www.mulatpinoy.ph/videocontest