Re-aligning Goals and Strategy: Preparing for the 2011 FF General Assembly

We’ve come a long way since we started on February 1, 2009. In around 3 months, Filipino Freethinkers will be 3 years old. We’ve done a lot to promote reason, science, and secularism. We want to do even more, so we’re asking for your help.

We’re getting organized — or at least more organized — and we’ll be re-aligning our goals and strategy to get better results. But before we can talk about new goals and better results, let’s review what we’ve achieved so far.

Here are some highlights:

1. We’ve spread freethought on social media through Twitter (almost 3,000 followers), Facebook (almost 3,000 group members and over 8,000 fans), and our website, which has almost a thousand posts, has been viewed more than half a million times, and has won the overall prize at the recent Globe Tatt Awards. (And don’t forget our forum, Tumblr, and YouTube pages, too.)
2. We’ve presented the freethinker’s perspective — on secularism, skepticism, and the RH Bill — through our appearances and interviews on AM and FM radio; and both local and foreign TV.
3. We’ve hosted more than a hundred events — meetups, forums, a film fest, and an excommunication party — in Metro Manila and Davao; and in our university chapters in UP Diliman, UP Manila, and DLSU.
4. We’ve helped educate students on freethought and secularism, giving interviews and answering questions for homework and research papers; delivering talks and participating in panel discussions; and providing a forum for learning and discussion through our university chapters.
5. We’ve become advocates and activists, mobilizing creative demonstrations for causes we believe in: fighting for the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill and refuting irrational arguments against it; walking (and running) with our LGBT allies and distracting the bigots who bother them; reminding people to guard their freedom of speech from opponents who cry blasphemy and call for censorship.

We achieved all this keeping our original vision and mission in mind:

Vision:

Long-term: Freethinkers can live in a Philippines free from all forms of violence, discrimination, and prejudice, their rights and freedoms fully protected by a government in which their opinions are fairly and adequately represented.

Short-term: Freethinkers can easily get in touch with fellow freethinkers to enjoy online and offline activities wherever they live and whatever their cultural or socioeconomic background.

Mission:

PROMOTION: Promote freethought, science, and reason online (websites, blogs, wikis, and forums) and offline (magazine, radio, and TV) with a positive, non-adversarial approach.
PUBLISHING: Publish materials for freethinkers such as newsletters (monthly), magazines (quarterly), and books (yearly).
EDUCATION: Create a freethought library where freethinkers can donate, lend, and borrow books, movies, and other freethought media.
EVENTS: Sponsor and organize events for freethinkers such as meetups, forums, talks, workshops, and film showings.
FINANCE: Raise money for the above purposes through donations, grants, membership fees (maybe when we’re formal), and merchandise sales.

You’ll notice that result 5 (advocacy and activism) was not part of our original vision and mission. Should we revise the vision – mission so that it’s included? Are there other goals and objectives you’d like to see in there? Or are there goals and objectives you don’t want FF to be involved in?

We’ll discuss all this and more at a general assembly we’re planning this November. Before then, let us know what you think by contacting us or leaving a comment below.

Thank you so much for all your support, and we welcome you to become even more involved in FF. With so much irrationality and bigotry in our country, we need all the help we can get.