Day 5/40: Optimist Prime

"Bawal ang NEGAtron, dapat Optimist Prime!"

I have heard of this phrase...more of, I have read this phrase a lot in twitter. And I liked what it says but at the same time I love how it is connected to one of my favorite movie characters, Optimus Prime. Yes, I am a Transformers fan but this post won't be about me being one. 

Today was the last leg of the Digital Technology For Social Change #DigiTech4SocialChange workshop which was held in Naga City. Because I wasn't able to join the workshop held here in Metro Manila, I was happy when they had a livestreaming for their workshop today. I was tuned in the whole day though there were a few hiccups due to slow (at times) internet connection. One of my top favorite environment advocates (as she preferred to be called), Anna Oposa, spoke...fun! Below are some of the tweets I've retweeted while the workshop was ongoing:

• At least 27 million Filipinos are on Facebook. @chayhofilena
• Online is nothing without OFFLINE. #DigiTech4SocialChange ~ Ana Santos
• Content curation lets you organize the vast amount of online information. Tools: Storify, Paper.li and Pinterest ~ Chay Hofilena, rappler(dot)com
• Q: How do you start to share about something you truly believe in? A: Start writing a story. Start writing your story. ~ Chay Hofilena, rappler(dot)com

I missed the talk of Mark Bantigue because the livestreaming suddenly stopped working. I was most "tutok" on the last talk by Anna Oposa. I love how animated and expressive and passionate she is when sharing her advocacy and the way she presents her presentation and materials. Very educational. I enjoyed every single moment of it and reminded me of my family who is passionate in protecting the environment and educating the people around us about the environment back home. 

Did you know? (taken from Anna Oposa's presentation)

• Ang pinakamayaman na karagatan sa buong mundo ay ang karagatan ng Pilipinas
• The center of the center of marine biodiversity in the world: Philippine Seas
• The Philippines has more diversity in land and sea than any other place on Earth.
• 80% of the oxygen we breathe comes from the sea.
• We are home to the golden south sea pearl, only found here in the Philippines.
• When you eradicate sharks, you destroy the whole ecosystem.
• The word is REsource. That means that you're supposed to be able to take from it again and again

Cool noh? Makes you proud to be Filipino. She shared that whenever she goes to other countries to visit a marine exhibit, the Philippines and our marine species are always presented as examples. 

Below are quotes and quotable quotes from her presentation that I lurve:

• Sometimes, the only available mode of transportation is the leap of faith.
• Follow your Heart but take your Brain with you.
• For people to care about the environment, it has to be about them. It is.
• Common sense is not very common.
• Improvement begins with I. And that's really how change happens.
• A campaign begins with a desire to tell a story. There are always simpler ways to tell a story. Translations.
• Learn how words behave. READ. You become the writer that you read.
• You just can't sit and tweet and re-tweet forever. Bring it outside!
• We only preserve what we love, we only love what we understand, we only understand what we study.
• Hope has two beautiful daughters: courage and anger. - St. Augustine
• Changemakers are troublemakers!
• PLANT the world w/ HOPE.
• Passion. Pass|On
• My real advocacy is to stop global whining.
• Promote what you love instead of bashing what you hate.
• I'm not an ACTIVIST. I'm an ADVOCATE!
• How can I serve other countries when I haven't even served my own?
• COME OUT OF THE ADVOCATE CLOSET! 
• The Earth without Art is just "Eh"
• Write bite-sized inspirations. Break it down. Tips and Lists. Put pictures.

Storified? Haha. Almost all her thoughts and quotes found on her presentation are just worth sharing. More than being a green advocate, a thresher shark advocate, a marine life advocate, I like that she uses her being a good speaker and writer to spread and advocate hope and optimism and the Philippines. I agree that we should be our own country's ambassador, an advocate of hope, faith and love. The world, offline and online, has had enough of devastating news. We have a part, we can do our part, no matter how young we are, to change this world for the better. Big or small, a difference is still a difference. Let's not get tired of spreading (and planting) the good news of hope...pass it on!