Critical and civic-oriented MIL
Out of The Box Media Literacy Initiative (OOTB) promotes critical and civic-oriented Media and Information Literacy (MIL) in the Philippines.
OOTB is committed to mainstream critical and civic-oriented Media and Information Literacy (MIL) in Philippine society through capacity-building innovations and advocacy campaigns.
Media and Information Literacy (MIL) is mainstreamed in Philippine society where people of all ages and backgrounds critically consume and responsibly use and create media in all forms; and engage government, media, and the tech industry to act in the interest of human rights.
What We Do
Out of The Box specializes in developing innovative, contextualized and impactful MIL resources, programs, and campaigns.
We produce high-quality multimedia learning resources
At OOTB, we translate MIL research and theory into practical tools and learning resources that help Filipino educators and parents integrate critical and civic-oriented MIL into their work with learners. Developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the #IWASFAKE Remote Learning Resources provide teachers with educational materials to teach crucial topics like the infodemic while adjusting to distance learning modality. The #MIL4Democracy Handbook (co-developed with the alumni of the International Visitor Leadership Program or IVLP on “Promoting Media Literacy through Education”) bridges MIL and civic education through a set of 18 lesson plans on topics such as press freedom, polarization, and hate speech, among others. Our portfolio of learning materials also include MediaX, an instructional video series on critical media topics; Share or Beware, a virtual game on critical thinking and fact-checking; and, the incoming Philippine Disinformation Resource Hub, in collaboration with SIGLA Action Research Center.
We develop and deliver innovative programs for learners and educators
Since the integration of MIL in the national K-12 curriculum as a stand-alone subject in senior high school in 2016, OOTB has been organizing various training programs for MIL educators and students across the country. The Media Literacy Workshops and Look Out Bootcamp programs, organized between 2015 and 2019, trained thousands of participants in different parts of the country through engaging and enriching sessions led by experts in the fields of media studies, journalism, film, technology, and education. Media Detectives is OOTB’s most recent training program that focuses on “influence operations” and 21st century propaganda. Besides training, OOTB also holds MIL competitions for young people such as the PeliKolab Youth Fellowship, Youth Leaders Incubator (in partnership with Meta and Mano Amiga), IWASFAKE Digital Campaign Challenge, and the annual Spoof Ads Competition. These programs provide opportunities for the youth to exercise and showcase their creative media production skills informed by critical media interrogation and civic responsibility.
We actively campaign for digital rights, press freedom, and MIL
With our mission to mainstream MIL in the Philippines, OOTB is active in promoting MIL through partnerships and multimedia campaigns. We helped craft the Critical Media Literacy Bill (House Bill No. 7078) sponsored by Kabataan Partylist in the 18th Congress of the Philippines. Through our involvement in the Greater Internet Freedom (GIF) project, we joined the regional and global editions of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2022 where we championed digital rights and safety in the country. In 2023, OOTB spearheaded the celebration of the UNESCO Global Media & Information Literacy Week through the first-ever Philippine MIL Summit. It featured a series of multi-stakeholder meetings and a public fair that gathered over 2,000 teachers, students, and advocate groups in the country. OOTB is also a member of national and regional coalitions for digital rights, counter-disinformation, and media literacy like #FactsFirstPH and Southeast Asia Collaborative Policy Coalition (SEA CPN).
Awards
2021 UNESCO Global Media and Information Literacy Awards
Conferred by the UNESCO MIL Alliance, the Global MIL Awards are presented every year at the Global MIL Week feature conference. The award seeks to recognize educators, librarians, activists, policymakers, NGOs and other individuals and groups that integrate MIL in innovative ways in their work and related activities.
2023 Global Youth & News Media Prize
The Educational NGO Award of the French non-profit organization Global Youth & News Media was given to Out of The Box for its landmark projects launched during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, #MIL4Democracy Handbook and #IWASFAKE Remote Learning.
OOTB is a proud member of
