Put your hometown on the map, students told

WHEN we say Manny Pacquiao, we think of General Santos City. Mention underground river and Puerto Princesa, Palawan automatically comes to mind. Flower Festival? That’s a Baguio thing. How about Chicken Inasal? That gives us memories of Bacolod.

 
“To put on the map” means to make a place well-known or popular or to stand for something. The ones mentioned above are just examples of people, places, events and food that put their respective hometowns or origins in the Philippine map.

 
Now, there’s a way for anyone to showcase to the world what makes their own hometowns unique and exciting – through the Internet. Smart Communications Inc. is inviting elementary and high school students all over the country to contribute and participate in a nationwide community mapping project that will showcase the country’s best.

 
Smart has opened this year’s edition of Doon Po Sa Amin (DPSA), its annual competition that gathers local stories from all over the country – as told by the residents themselves.

 
“No story is too trivial or too small for this year’s DPSA,” said Ramon Isberto, head of Smart’s Public Affairs Group. “Anyone can put their own hometown in the map, through stories about the people, places, events, food, culture, legends and historical bits that make their own places special. We believe that every place has a story and we can use the Internet and mobile technologies to help unearth them and gather them in one place.”

Can you think of your own hometown’s unique stories, personalities, events, places and objects that can make it stand out in the Philippine map? This competition is open to all primary and secondary schools all over the country. Each participating team is composed of 8 to 10 members with a maximum of three teacher-coaches.

Participants may register at www.doonposaamin.ph  and send their topic proposals. Registration is until Aug. 31.

On September, Smart will open its official DPSA map at mapwiki.nokia.com/smart and let registered users post photo slideshows, music videos, short films, presentations and stories on the map.

 
After the competition, DPSA will have an entire Philippine map filled with stories created by participants all over the country.

The best posts will win cash prizes of up to P50,000, computer packages for the schools and gift packs for the team members. The winning entries will also get a chance to be part of the DPSA video.

For contest updates, visit website www.doonposaamin.ph  or join the official Facebook community at www.facebook.com/doonposaamin. Now on its fifth year, the DPSA is supported by the Department of Education and Nokia Location and Commerce.