YOUTHink media literacy book wins Best Reads at the National Children’s Book Awards

July 25, 2022 by Adobo Magazine - Literature

MANILA, PHILIPPINES — #YOUTHink, a publication that aims to help fight misinformation through media literacy, was hailed as one of the Best Reads for 2020-2021 at the recently held 7th National Children’s Book Awards.

The book was published by the Center for Art, New Ventures, and Sustainable Development (CANVAS) with funding support from Google. In 2021 alone, 10,000 copies of #YOUTHink were distributed for free to schools and communities while 10,000 more will be given out this year.

Filled with data and case studies, the 42-page publication comes in a fun and creative zine-style format to engage young readers. It covers several topics such as the types of misinformation and their negative effects, why context matters, how to identify a fact from an opinion, and how to avoid falling for fake information. Fun expressive stickers are also included with every copy of the book.

The title of the publication was conceived to put emphasis on two elements: “youth” which is a force in addressing misinformation, and “critical thinking” which is necessary to assess information online. In addition to Filipino, during National Language Month, Google and CANVAS published a Cebuano version of the book to recognize the vital role of vernaculars in the quest against misinformation.

“Google is honored that #YOUTHink was lauded as one of the Best Reads for 2020-2021 at the National Children’s Books Awards! Supporting this book reflects our commitment to helping combat misinformation. We’re extremely grateful to CANVAS for the partnership, and to the Philippine Board on Books for Young People for the award. Our work to reduce harmful content and connect Filipinos to authoritative information is ongoing and we will continue to make deep investments in this area,” said Yves Gonzalez, head of government affairs and public policy for Google Philippines.

“CANVAS is very proud that the Philippine Board recognized #YOUTHink on Books for Young People. The social media age has compounded the need to further strengthen efforts around media literacy and it’s part of our purpose to contribute to this space. We are thankful to our partners including Google who enabled us to distribute reading materials such as #YOUTHink to public schools and disadvantaged communities,” said Gigo Alampay, CANVAS founder and executive director.

Safe Space: A Kid’s Guide to Data Privacy, published by CANVAS and commissioned by Globe Telecom with additional support from Google, was also named one of the Best Reads for 2020-2021.