Every 40 seconds, a life is lost
to suicide, making it the second leading cause of death among 15-29 year-olds
globally, according to the World Health Organization. To add, depression is the predominant cause
of illness and disability for both boys and girls aged 10 to 19.
With the grim scenario, the
Natasha Goulbourn Foundation (NGF) in partnership with the Department of Health
(DOH) and the UP Junior Marketing Association (UPJMA), and the support of Globe
Telecom is launching “Hope in 40 Seconds”, a 40-seconder animated digital video
competition that aims to promote mental health and encourage those suffering
from it as well as their loved ones to seek guidance from HOPELINE, NGF’s free
24/7 suicide hotline.
“We want to counter the suicide rate of one
per 40 seconds by offering hope so that those who are in emotional crisis and
in need of immediate assistance can have someone they can talk to, someone who
understands what they are going through, and who can give them the support they
need,” said Jean Goulbourn, Chief Executive Officer of NGF, a non-profit
organization dedicated to bringing depression to light.
Through animated videos which
will be distributed using various channels such as social media and movie
theatres, NGF would be able to reach out to more people and provide them with
proper intervention so they could veer away from negative and escapist
behaviors.
Globe, a partner of NGF in
providing the information and communications technology infrastructure for
HOPELINE which enables Globe and TM customers to call toll-free, also lends its
resources to the video competition which it believes may also help curb
incidents of cyber bullying.
“Although there are no official
studies yet on how cyber bullying affects mental health, there are already
reports of young people taking their own lives due to online pressure and
stress. Being a company which is driven
by our purpose to transform the Philippines into a digital nation, it is also
our duty to protect and educate the people on the impact of technology in their
lives, thus, our support for this campaign,” said Fernando Esguerra, Globe
Director for Citizenship. Globe also
currently runs the Digital Thumbprint Program workshops for students to guide
them on responsible online behavior and has also forged a partnership with the
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Philippines and the Ateneo Human Rights
Center for the protection of children against online exploitation.
The video campaign has also been
taken as a project by the UP JMA, a university-wide student organization of
over 300 members. For this semester, the
organization embarked on SPARK: The Movement to promote healthy lifestyle and
to spread hope among the country’s youth.
The video competition is open to
all Filipino citizens currently residing in the Philippines. All entries must be in animated digital video
format (FLV, WMV, MOV, AVI, mpeg, mp4) not exceeding 40 seconds including the
title and end screens. It should also
incorporate the HOPELINE numbers 804-HOPE (4673), 0917558HOPE (4673), and 2919
(toll free for TM and Globe) as a call to action in the animation.
For more information and queries,
you may email hopein40seconds@gmail.com
or visit SPARK The Movement
by UP JMA at https://www.facebook.com/SparkTheMovement.
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