Roleplay: Acting is becoming a common skill demonstrated in the ‘Essentials’ training

Remember when as kids we would fantasize and pretend to be a doctor, soldier, or teacher? Remember how much fun it was when we could play the part of people we admire, and to speak in their voice and mannerism? The participants of the Essentials of Community eCenter Management get to “play” different roles to help them identify the needs of the community that the Community eCenter (CeC) will serve.

As a lecturer of the module on Identifying Community Needs for Enhanced Services, I always find delight in the interview exercise which allows the participants to talk about their experiences, and their observations of different people in the community. The favorite roles of interviewees are as barangay captain, as unemployed college graduate, or a housewife with four high school-age children.

Participants of the content writeshop mull over the creation of their content

"Wow! Who would ever have thought that we were able to come up with a great video from scratch in just 3 days!"

This was a remark I got from one of our Content Development Writeshop participants in San Remigio, Cebu, as they sat amazed and proud of their accomplishments, on what was their last day of the process. They were sitting, watching each of the four videos that the group produced. Many of them never had any experience before in shooting and editing a video - yet here they were, showing their videos to an impressed panel of local government officials and business people.

The Philippine CeC Program, in partnership with the Philippine CeC Network and the Molave Development Foundation, Inc., completed a series of groundbreaking, innovative Writeshops, each focused on equipping and capacitating Community eCenters and the communities they served. We employed the Community-based Participatory approach in involving the CeC Manager and knowledge workers, local community leaders, and various sectors such as youth, senior citizens, women, educators, farmers, businessmen, health workers and volunteers.

Participants listen to Mayor Dahlia Loyola as she shares her insights about the CeC during the Essentials site visit

It was a sunny 15th of November when the Batch 14 of Essentials of CeC Management training held their site visit to the Community eCenter of Carmona in Cavite.

According to CeC Manager Angelo Macha, one of the biggest hurdles to a successful CeC is not having the support of key stakeholders, including the mayor. Knowing that securing this support plays a significant role in CeC operations, the group visited Hon. Dahlia Loyola. Mayor Loyola shared the need for municipal leaders to equip each staff with basic computer skills because, as she said, there will come a time when all offices will be computerized. She acknowledged that people cannot get away from the emerging technological world.

She stressed the need for the Mayor to support the employees because according to Mayor Loyola, “Kahit gaano ka-innovative ang empleyado, kapag hindi suportado ng boss, wala tayo (No matter how innovative the employee, it is all for naught without the support of the boss).”