Sign up for MovePH’s ‘Civic Circles’ on keeping children, schools safe
MANILA, Philippines – What can we do, together, to make children and schools safe?
Rising school violence across the Philippines in 2026 demands urgent and coordinated action. Beyond the classroom, children also face growing dangers in the digital landscape, including online grooming and violence.
Education advocates have earlier called for better school safety, emphasizing that keeping children and schools safe is a shared responsibility among schools, families, local governments, law enforcement, civil society organizations, and communities.
To foster this collaboration, Rappler’s civic engagement arm MovePH is launching “Civic Circles: How can we keep our children and schools safe?” — a panel discussion and workshop aimed at building actionable strategies to stop school violence. This particular session is done in collaboration with CyberGuardiansPH and Mental Health Youth Hub.
Civic Circles is a pilot initiative led by MovePH that aims to turn discussion into community-led action. It builds on MovePH’s previous community campaigns such as responsible digital citizenship, scam prevention, fighting disinformation, and disaster preparedness, among others.
What to expect at Civic Circles
The session will take place on Thursday, September 10, from 12:30 pm to 5 pm. Interested participants can join on-site at the Rappler civic hub in Pasig City or online via the Education chat room on the Rappler app.
The program will kick off with a panel discussion with experts and practitioners working on education, law enforcement, child protection, and community safety. This will be followed by a brief Q&A for the participants.
The panel features Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte, Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group spokesperson Police Captain Wallen Arancillo, and Philippine Pediatric Society child protection specialist Dr. Princess Gairanod.
Rappler’s head of community, Pia Ranada, will moderate the discussion, which will be followed by an interactive Q&A session with participants and Rappler app users.
After the panel discussion and Q&A, participants joining on-site can take part in a hands-on workshop to collectively develop concrete and actionable responses to threats facing children and schools across four Civic Circles:
- Campus security and physical safety
- Psychosocial care and mental health
- Policy, governance, and accountability
- Digital safety and off-campus hotspots
The solutions generated during the session may be featured on Rappler to encourage a broader discussion and possible adaptation by local governments, schools, families, and communities.
While the panel discussion will be livestreamed on Rappler’s online platforms, the hands-on workshop is exclusively for in-person attendees.
Participants joining in-person must register through the form below until Monday, September 7.
Limited slots only. Confirmed in-person guests will receive an email for reminders and other information.
For further inquiries or registration details, email move.ph@rappler.com.– Rappler.com
