MANILA, PHILIPPINES – YouTube, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the European Union (EU), and social change agency Love Frankie, announced the final Creators for Change videos for 2020.
Running for three years now, Creators for Change is a program that allows YouTube creators to use their content to help address social issues today such as cyberbullying and social exclusion.
In the Philippines, this year’s YouTube Creators for Change winners are motivational content creator Ella Banana, NextUp Class of 2019 finalist Lex in Motion, and Class of 2017 finalist Team Lyqa.
- Banana’s “I Can And I Will” tells the story of Em Quintana, a nurse and a part-time mermaid diagnosed with Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), to promote social inclusion and build awareness on how we should not define a person’s contributions based on their disability alone.
- Lex in Motion’s project introduces the story of Nasaan si Toto Ong, a “choose-your-own-adventure” interactive YouTube video where viewers are encouraged to participate through fact-checking and critical analysis.
- Team Lyqa’s #BeHeardOnYouTube initiative focuses on social inclusion for the deaf community, tackling the daily challenges they face, and how creators can make their content more accessible on YouTube with a step-by-step tutorial on how to use the platform’s closed captions.
Earlier this year, several creators underwent a workshop in Google’s local headquarters to gain a deep understanding of the issues they want to focus on. They were invited to submit initial ideas; a panel of judges across Google and partners carefully selected three creators who received $5,000 to execute their videos.
The finalists attended a two-day boot camp in Bangkok along with 14 other creators from Asia Pacific where they were taught to address social issues and communicate with impact through YouTube. The boot camp was followed by a local three-month “Academy Program” where they were mentored by Google, UNDP, and issue experts to produce their projects.
For more information, visit the YouTube Creators for Change website
