DOLE unit, Facebook partnership to boost OFW digital literacy, entrepreneurial skills


By
 Rizal Raoul Reyes
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127
Facebook’s Head of Community Affairs for the Asia Pacific Beth Ann Lim gestures to stress a point during a recent news conference unveiling the social media’s tie-up with the Department of Labor and Employment-Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to widen the digital literacy of overseas Filipino workers and enhance their entrepreneurial skills.
Social-media giant Facebook and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa), an agency under the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), 
recently formalized a partnership that seeks to expand the digital literacy and sharpen the entrepreneurial skills of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in areas where they are concentrated most, such as Hong Kong, Singapore and the Middle East.
Beth Ann Lim, Facebook’s head of community affairs for the Asia Pacific (AsPac), at a recent news conference said the improved digital literacy modules will cover digital discourse, online privacy, safety, and information literacy, among others,  will be launched this year.
The announcement was made at the recent Migrant Workers Day celebration, which also marks the digital literacy program’s anniversary.
“We recognize that overseas Filipino workers depend on our platforms to stay connected to their families and everything important to them back home. Facebook will continue supporting OFWs and their families, to ensure they have a positive, safe and authentic experience on our platforms, wherever they are in the world,” said Lim.
“It will have a breathe of topics, such as phishing, scams, fake news, among others, “ Lim added.
She said Facebook apps can be used as platform by the small and medium enterprises especially when they are just starting their businesses. “Once they developed the confidence to build the business, they can now look for bigger growth,” she pointed out.

Empowered

On its first year, the program trained over 140,000 OFWs on digital skills for discerning credible content online, and respectful digital discourse. Over 600 returning OFWs were also provided online business skills training to help them find alternative sources of income.
“We are glad to be expanding our digital literacy program with Facebook for OFWs based in Hong Kong, Singapore and the Middle East. Our shared vision is an empowered OFW community that would have the critical skills to vet information they find online, and consistently use privacy and safety tools available to them,” said Hans Leo Cacdac, Owwa administrator.
Cacdac said the availability of social-media platforms such as Facebook develops a level playing field that will enable SMEs to compete with the bigger players.

Deployment

Government estimates indicate that there were 2.3 million OFWs deployed between April and September 2018. The top destination for OFWs is the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, where one of four OFWs (24.3 percent) worked; United Arab Emirates (15.7 percent); Kuwait (5.7 percent) and Qatar (5.2 percent). Other top destinations for OFWs include Hong Kong (6.3 percent), Taiwan (5.5 percent) and Singapore (4.9 percent).
Lim said Facebook aims to provide digital literacy training for OFWs in Hong Kong, Singapore and the Middle East by the end of 2020.
She added that over 140,000 departing OFWs and families had participated in digital literacy workshops during the program’s first year, while 600 returning OFWs took part in the digital business skills workshops conducted by Owwa and Facebook.
Enhanced digital literacy modules with OFW-specific challenges and situations will be launched for this year’s trainings.

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