For ten years now, Tinta kag Tinaga of the Rotaract Club of Metro Iloilo has been more than just a journalism workshop as it has already become a movement that shapes young minds, sharpening pens, and strengthening the truth.
This year, the Rotaract Club of Metro Iloilo proudly marks a milestone with the 10th year of its flagship initiative— Tinta kag Tinaga: A Crash Course in Journalism for New Writers, a program that continues to empower the next generation of responsible campus journalists and truth-seekers.
In partnership with the Rotary Club of Metro Iloilo, this year’s project was already conducted in different schools in Iloilo, including the towns of Miag-ao, San Rafael, Cabatuan, and New Lucena, gathering hundreds of eager student-participants from various elementary and secondary schools. The event once again proved how stories, when told truthfully and ethically, can spark awareness and action in communities.
Throughout the program, seasoned Rotaractors—many of whom have excelled in journalism—shared the stage with invited media professionals in leading interactive and skill-based sessions. Participants immersed themselves in the fundamentals of news writing, sports writing, feature writing, editorial writing, science and technology writing, photojournalism, copyreading and headline writing, column writing, and editorial cartooning.
But this year’s edition went beyond technique. Tinta kag Tinaga highlighted Media and Information Literacy (MIL), which is a timely and vital focus in today’s age of digital misinformation. Students were challenged to not only write with skill but to write with truth, ethics, and purpose; and to become verifiers in a world clouded by viral falsehoods.
For a decade, Tinta kag Tinaga has stood as a cornerstone of the Rotaract Club of Metro Iloilo’s advocacy for freedom of information, youth empowerment, and responsible campus journalism. Since its inception, the project has reached over 150 schools and trained more than 40,000 student-writers across Western Visayas—many of whom have gone on to become award-winning campus journalists in local and national competitions.
As it celebrates its 10th year, Tinta kag Tinaga continues to prove that good journalism begins with young people who dare to tell stories that matter. With every article written and every truth defended, the project reaffirms its mission to use the power of words not just to inform, but to inspire and transform. It is because when the youth learn to write truth, they also learn to shape the future.
