Stories

“We’re very excited to learn. We’re very excited to fail so that we will learn good lessons and know how to move forward.” 

The first step towards the unknown takes courage. Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center Executive Director Mai Taqueban admits that their INITIATE project is a new endeavor for an organization as seasoned as the LRC.

The plan is set: launch a TikTok account—a social media platform rarely used by human rights organizations in the Philippines—gather young influencers in a youth camp in ancestral lands in Northern Mindanao, and start a conversation with them about indigenous rights and issues. These Gen Z influencers will pave the way in collaborating with indigenous communities, and sharing their stories and struggles through TikTok videos. Indigenous voices taking space online, building a community of TikTok users amplifying calls from the ground, and lobbying for indigenous rights and climate justice.

“We want to debunk the adage that you can teach dogs new tricks, so this is an opportunity for us to learn new tricks.” 

It’s a brave plan, Taqueban says, but it’s one that just might work — through the help of Social and Behavior Change (SBC).

Watch the first three videos in our eight-part series entitled “Initiating SBC: The ALG Stories” to learn about the brave plans of other member organizations of the Alternative Law Groups applying SBC in their human rights campaigns.

Ready to start your SBC journey? We’d be happy to walk with you. Read more about the I-ACT’s Pathway of Programs here.