Communication Foundation for Asia

Communication Foundation for Asia

Founded	1968
Founder(s)	Fr Cornelio Lagerwey, MSC and Genaro Ong
Headquarters	Manila, Philippines
Key people	Fr Filoteo Pelingon, MSC, President Teresita Hermano, Executive Director
Employees	89 (as of March 2010)
Website	CFAmedia.org

Communication Foundation for Asia (CFA), a pioneer in development communication, is a non-stock, non-profit, and non-governmental organization that was established in 1968 as a media production for the spiritual upliftment and empowerment of people.

CFA is committed to the use of media for total human development. It is a multi-media center with the staff and facilities for producing developmental video documentaries and audio and TV programs, publishing educational comics and magazines for elementary and high school students all over the country, conducting training workshops on communication skills and applications, and organizing media events such as film festivals, peace communication camps, environmental forums and traveling exhibits.

CFA has also served as the secretariat for the Asian Network of Women in Communication (ANWIC), which has members in 13 countries.^[1]

CFA Vision

The integral development of people through innovative learning processes using media technology and other forms of communication.

CFA Mission

To harness the power of communication in order to promote Christian values and empower people in need towards social transformation.

CFA’s Priority Themes

CFA has three priority development themes - Citizenship Education, Poverty Alleviation and Environmental Conservation:

Citizenship Education

Citizenship Education is essentially training and motivating people to become good citizens—not just of the country, but of the human race. CFA believes that developing a sense of identity, respect for human rights, love of country and community, and social awareness helps build good citizens and responsible persons. Inspiring and empowering Filipinos to get involved in community affairs and national issues is basic to development communication. Some of CFA’s projects that focus on citizenship education are the Voters’ Education program, the projects on anti-corruption and good governance, the Interfaith Peace Camps for Youth and networking with women’s media groups.

Poverty Alleviation

CFA is convinced that poverty alleviation should address not just hunger, homelessness or lack of basic services, but more importantly powerlessness, oppression and lack of freedom. Sadly, countless citizens are still passive or indifferent to poverty, its social, economic and moral implications. There is an imperative to break inaction. CFA has partnered with Pondo ng Pinoy, the poverty alleviation and pastoral program of the Archdiocese of Manila, to push the advocacy forward. CFA is creating a multimedia package to boost Pondo ng Pinoy’s information campaign. On its own, CFA is also working on a video documentary on poverty.

Environmental Conservation

In upholding the integrity of creation, CFA subscribes to the concept of "sustainable development". It is development that allows the provision of today’s needs without compromising the future. In 2005 CFA launched the Coffeehouse Environmental Series to address the growing concerns on the environment. The Coffeehouse Forum continues to serve as a venue for discussion of various environmental issues, including air pollution, saving the forests, rivers, solid waste management, endangered species and mining. It participates in an environmental network through which advocacies are shared and pursued.^[2]

Projects

Among the projects undertaken by CFA in the past few years are:

Peace Camp

Peace Festivals for Christian and Muslim Youth organized by CFA, which include workshops, video production and a nationwide exhibit of the participants' artwork.

Media Training Series

CFA has conducted workshops on various media skills (web design, social media, scriptwriting, video production, etc.) for diocesan media directors, teachers, catechists and pastoral workers.

TV Production

CFA has produced several programs for television, including the 3-part series Vote 4 U, which uses a reality game show format to introduce first-time voters to the rights and responsibilities of citizens prior to elections; the 30-minute television series Gospel Komiks TV (based on CFA’s popular magazine for elementary and high school students) broadcast weekly over TV Maria; and Tilamsik, the 30-minute series on the stories of Pondo ng Pinoy beneficiaries.

Video Documentaries

CFA has made documentaries intended for discussion of social issues such as poverty, anti-corruption and good governance. It has also produced documentaries on notable church groups and events.

Devcom Forum Series

CFA has organized numerous fora, including the Environmental Forum Series, which features resource speakers on such topics as Climate Change, Pollution, Mining, Waste Management, Green Architecture, etc. CFA has also conducted forums on Peace Communication and on Media and the Elections, both outside and inside the CFA premises.

Film and Faith Series

CFA has conducted a series of yearly seminars on various aspects of Film and Faith with international film reviewer and author Fr Peter Malone as resource person. As of January 2010, CFA has also published three books under the Film and Faith Book Series.

Film Festivals

CFA has organized two film festivals: the Women’s Film Festival during the Feminist Centennial Year in 2005 (with Shang Cinema as venue), and the much smaller Film and Faith Festival in 2008 (with CFA as venue).

References

1. ^ CFA Website, Who We Are
2. ^ CFA Website, What We Do

• Directory of Non-Government Organizations Working on Women. Manila: National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, 2007.

• Derix, Jan. A Fool or a Man of Faith: Cornelio Lagerwey, MSC: 25 Years of Missionary Struggle for the Development of People thru the Media. Trans. Anthony van Santvoord and Adrian van Baar. Manila: CFA, 1982.

• Maglalang, Demetrio, ed. From the Village to the Medium: An Experience in Development Communication. Manila: CFA, 1976.

External links

• cfamedia.org - Official website