VARIOUS SOCIETAL issues were brought to light in a series of talks at TEDxADMU: Unspoken, which was held on March 13 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater, Resorts World Manila in Pasay.
According to its official website, this year’s TEDxADMU invited eight distinguished speakers to discuss “humanity’s existence, beliefs, and norms amidst the issues in its society” that ought to be challenged.
The speakers were the following: Journalist, talent manager, and television host Boy Abunda, Inquirer.net Editor-in-Chief and award-winning author John Nery, advocate for rape awareness and former celebrity Kat Alano, Japanese actress, model and adult video artist Maria Ozawa, contemporary philosopher Justin de Castro, 17-year old professional magician Joseph “Mandrake” Ferrer, socio-civic philanthropist and founder of the Friends of Hope Incorporated Nanette Medved-Po, and spoken word artist Abby Orbeta.
Friends of Hope Incorporated is the manufacturer of the bottled water brand “Hope in a Bottle” which devotes 100% of profits to building of public school classrooms in the Philippines.
This year’s series of talks marks the fourth installation of the same trademark name organized by the Ateneo Junior Marketing Association, an accredited business cluster organization in the Ateneo.
Discrimination and public opinion
Among the issues raised by the speakers were the rampant discrimination of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the role of criticism in the public sphere.
In his talk, Abunda emphasized the need to explore new ways of solving societal problems, one of which is by getting rid of “cultural biases.”
“We are living in the new age of enlightenment. This is the best time for exploration. This is the best time to challenge prejudicial discriminatory cultural common beliefs, to correct the wrongdoings of colonialism,” he said.
Abunda also brought to light the LGBT community’s lack of access to equal rights, such as the right to run for public office. “Why can’t we have a gay president?”
“A gay president will nurture and strengthen the Filipino family. A gay president will be a servant leader. A gay president will subscribe to the concept of politics making the impossible possible,” he said.
On the other hand, Nery emphasized the critical role that social media plays in shaping public opinion.
“Nothing in the universe is faster than the speed of opinion,” he said.
He encouraged the listeners to suspend their judgements before making an opinion by giving “the benefit of the doubt,” so as to control and regulate the influx of opinions being made, especially in the realm of social media.
“Doubt is good. It forces us to investigate the experience and to ask the necessary questions,” he said.
“When a controversy erupts, we must seek first to understand. That is how we can slow down the speed opinion,” Nery added.
Working for the greater good
The speakers also talked about their respective advocacies and efforts to raise awareness about various social issues.
In her talk, Medved-Po highlighted the social responsibility that business entrepreneurs should consider whenever they decide to put up a business enterprise.
She stressed the importance of social entrepreneurship and how it works towards alleviating social problems in their own noble ways and means.
“There’s nothing wrong with making money. But when the gap becomes so widespread, I don’t think that business as usual is the way to go,” Medved-Po said.
She also called the youth to hone their skills and apply them towards solving “really big problems” that the world is facing right now.
“You are holding this world accountable, and companies are listening,” she said.
Moreover, Ferrer said that dealing with issues that confront our country is similar to decoding a magic trick—one must use the right perspective.
“Magic is all about perspective. The impossible is just the possible wanting to happen. You might be the possible to the impossibles that we have right now,” he said.
With reports from Digital Media Editor Carlos Arcenas.
