The Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA) conferred the John Paul II Award for 2018 to the Department of Journalism & Communications (DJC) of the University of San Jose-Recoletos.
The award was bestowed to DJC for “being the forefront of training journalists in Cebu and its neighboring provinces with the guidance of the values of St. Augustine.”
DJC Chair Nestor Ramirez explained that the award was named after the pope because John Paul II made use of the mass media as a tool to widen and deepen his reach for his mission. Like him, the department utilized the mass media to promote greater good through developing the journalists of today.
Moreover, the department is not only strong on its academic aspect but also in its community engagements using the principles of journalism and communication.
“Nigamit ta sa skills nga atong i-educate sa mga katawhan, as a tool to serve the people through our extension projects,” Ramirez said.
Two of the highlighted community-extension projects are Project Kadasig and Radyo Kamagayan. The former is a social marketing campaign which revitalizes the shoe-repair and t-shirt printing industry along Junquera Street in Cebu City in order to counter the stigma of it being a red-light district. The latter is the first community-radio in Cebu which is utilized as both a form of entertainment and sharing relevant information to the citizens of Barangay Kamagayan in Cebu City.
The collective projects of the department were used as the basis for the award.
“The award is the bonus. Bayad na mi sa happiness. Bayad na mi sa satisfaction. The award is not necessary but we are happy,” he said.
The department chair emphasized that the recognition would have not been made possible if not to the collaborative efforts of its faculty members and students.
The said award was given last November 14 during the 40th CMMA in Metro Manila.
Written by Lorraine Mitzi A. Ambrad
