To respond to the emerging issues related to fake news, the University Community Engagement and Advocacy Council (UCEAC) along with other organizations such as Konsyensya Dabaw and Mindanews, will organize Civil Society Conversations on Democracy and Disinformation.

The said event will be held at the Finster Auditorium on Friday, August 23. 

According to UCEAC Chairperson Mark Paul Samante, the conference will address societal problems, specifically fake news and disinformation.

“We are expecting that through this conference we’ll be able to share to the consortium our collective efforts on how to address this information,” he said. 

As the event welcomes guests from universities around Davao, Samante added that the conference would provide an avenue to hear ideas from parties aside from the Ateneo community.

“This is an avenue for learning as well as comparing our notes on issues. What might be true to you or the one you consider the truth might not be the truth that I am having,” he shared. 

The conference will feature topics such as Martial Law in Mindanao and the Changes of Truth-Telling, Psychology of Disinformation, The Architects of Disinformation, and Journalists on the Problems of Disinformation.

The keynote speaker for the dialogue will be Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio. Other resource speakers include Bro. Karl Gaspar, CSsR, Dr. Gail Ilagan, chairperson of the Psychology department, and Prof. Jason Cabanes.

The conference participants include members from Davao Association of Catholics Schools (DACS), Davao Association of Colleges and Universities  Network (DACUN), University of Mindanao (UM), University of Southeastern Philippines (USEP), human rights groups, and other media personalities.