The Ateneo Human Rights Center (AHRC), with the generous support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom Philippines (FNF), successfully held Rights in Focus: Human Rights for Campus Journalists Summit 2025 on December 6 at the Ateneo Professional Schools. Nearly 200 campus journalists from various universities participated in the whole-day event.
Award-winning journalist Jamela Alindogan headlined the summit as keynote speaker, inspiring attendees with a powerful address that drew from her experiences in journalism and her work on human rights issues.
The first panel discussion, moderated by ABS-CBN News’ Raphael Bosano, featured campus journalists Regulus Dipasupil (Editor in Chief, The Philippine Collegian) and Chalssea Echegoyen (Editor in Chief, The Varsitarian), along with ABS-CBN anchor Adrian Ayalin and National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) Chairperson Jonathan de Santos. The panel examined the current landscape of campus journalism in the Philippines, highlighting challenges and opportunities faced by student publications today.
The second panel, moderated by Supreme Court Chief Communications Officer Atty. Mike Navallo, focused on reporting through a human rights lens. The discussants included Rappler Senior Investigative Reporter Lian Buan, award-winning photojournalist Raffy Lerma, and human rights lawyer and AHRC Executive Director Atty. Nicolene Arcaina.
Aside from the plenary sessions, participants attended workshop sessions on ethical and rights-sensitive reporting, fact-checking and combating misinformation, and digital safety and security for campus journalists.
The summit was a continuation of AHRC’s Project Human Rights Lens, implemented in partnership with leading campus publications in selected universities in the National Capital Region (NCR), namely The Varsitarian, The Philippine Collegian, Tinig ng Plaridel, The LaSallian, The Bedan, The Benildean, The Advocate, and The Guidon.
The event also marked the ceremonial turnover of the Human Rights Primer for Campus Journalists, developed by AHRC as a result of a baseline survey conducted during the course of the project. Survey respondents from the partner publications provided inputs that helped the project team identify key human rights areas to be highlighted in the primer.
The primer was distributed to partners and participants with the hope that it will serve as a practical guide for campus journalists striving to become more rights-sensitive in their journalistic practice. The turnover was facilitated by AHRC Communications Director RJ Sangcap, AHRC Executive Director Atty. Nicolene Arcaina, and FNF Country Director Dr. Almut Besold.
In her message of support, Dr. Besold emphasized the crucial role of campus journalists in protecting and promoting human rights. “Buong suporta ang ibinibigay ng FNF [sa programang ito] dahil naniniwala kami na kung mas maraming tao ang nakakaalam kung gaano kahalaga ang karapatang pantao, mas magiging matibay ang pagprotekta natin dito,” she said.
Meanwhile, Alindogan delivered a highly applauded keynote speech that framed campus journalism as a human rights mission essential to protecting democracy. She underscored the importance of the independence afforded by universities to campus journalism.
“Universities must be a sanctuary of truth where young journalists can question power without fear or retribution, where the right to speak is protected—even when the words they write sting,” she said.
The summit concluded with a session on drafting a human rights agenda for campus journalists. Participants reflected on the synthesis question, “What do you want to do next in your respective communities after gaining valuable insights from the summit?” The event ended with the signing of a commitment wall, symbolizing participants’ willingness to uphold and integrate human rights in their work as storytellers.