i: the citizen

Call for Submissions

This is a chance, an opportunity, a call.

We all want a better Philippines.  While the government is largely responsible for running the country, let us not forget that we, the people, are the country. We cannot just sit back or stand around and take care of our own lives, and leave the task of taking care of our country to somebody else. We cannot expect for something to happen if we are not exerting any effort. The good news is, citizens – ordinary people like you and me – can do our share, great or small, to contribute to making a better Philippines.

i: The Citizen is a magazine that aims to inform, inspire, and involve people worldwide in realizing a better Philippines.

i: The Citizen is now accepting submissions (written articles, short videos, photographic essays, and other media we can publish online) for review for publication in the first issue. You may submit:

• Personal pieces connected to the theme of “A Better Philippines” – the good things about it now and imagined possibilities we can make happen.  This can be about the time you volunteered to teach street children or clean up your neighborhood, your being part of a civic group that is taking concrete steps to affect positive change, your commitment to good governance as a member of our government system, OR, if you are just starting your personal journey into being an engaged citizen, send us your thoughts on what you think the country needs and what your plans are to do your part – I believe most of us are in this stage, so if you don’t have any concrete plans, send us your thoughts anyway, and maybe we can come up with something together.

• Profiles/Interviews of people who are engaged in work that contributes to the betterment of the Philippines. Ask them why they do the work that they do, have them elaborate on their choice to be involved; the goal is to get their personal story of civic engagement out for everyone to hear/see/read.

• Features on issues that matter to you: better healthcare, equal access to good education, transparency and accountability of nonprofit organizations as well as the government, the arts, social entrepreneurship, the military, anything that you think contributes to the well-being of our nation.

• Events, workshops, volunteering opportunities, jobs in the nonprofit sector, and other announcements you want other concerned citizens to know about so they can be involved. Please be as detailed as you can when giving us information.

• News on past events, workshops, or other activities you think other citizens should know about.

• Other pieces that you believe deserve a space in i: The Citizen, keeping its goals in mind.

We do realize that not all of us are writers, so send us a thoughtful sentence, a paragraph, a photo with a caption, a video of your personal observation regarding the state of our country, literally anything that we can publish online. What really matters here is your intention; we will work together to make it all make sense. In our marketing-driven world, i: The Citizen brings back the value of having what you say matter, and not just how you say it. If you want to engage in the conversation but don’t know where to start, write us and we’ll work with you. We want you to join us.

For the first issue of i: The Citizen, we want to paint the big picture, the current situation we are all in and the situation we want it to be.

This is your time to be heard. Be part of the better Philippines that is yet to come. Join the discussion simply because your thoughts and concerns matter.  You, the citizen, matter.

E-mail submissions by April 1, 2009 to: editor@ithecitizen.org. Please put “ i: The Citizen – First Issue – (Your Name), (Title or Description of Work)” on the subject line. Expect to hear from us within a month from the time of submission.

If you do not wish to submit now, watch out for upcoming announcements from i: The Citizen in the next few days. We have other opportunities for those who would appreciate more direction on what to contribute to this evolving magazine.

i: The Citizen, Issue One will be published in May. Send us an e-mail if you wish to be notified upon publication. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to e-mail us as well.

*To reach our fellow citizens who do not have access to the internet, we are planning to have a print version of each issue once we have the funds. We are also working towards publishing a Tagalog version of each issue.

Visit www.ithecitizen.org.