In a culture where strict social standards and religious beliefs are deeply ingrained, silence and anonymity are sometimes the only options available to victims of abuse – especially women. Their experiences aren’t adequately addressed or documented because of a society that encourages people to hide their suffering due to fear, the normalization of domestic abuse, and victim-blaming.
That is why the invention of virtual Filipina avatars for platforms like TikTok, dubbed as the Face of Courage, offers enormous promise. It was made by The Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA), a non-governmental organization that was established in May 1987 with the primary goal of providing underprivileged groups with access to media and information. After 10 years of establishment and the growth of the information and communications infrastructure, FMA realized these villages may benefit from internet access and new digital opportunities.
Apart from Face of Courage, FMA keeps raising awareness about gender problems, data privacy, cyber safety, and digital activism in its campaigns.
“Unfortunately, all of us know at least one woman who has experienced gender-based abuse,” said Lisa Garcia, executive director of FMA. “The Face of Courage campaign is courageous. AI has the ability to reduce gender-based violence and promote the Divorce Bill, and if it can empower Filipino women only by giving a computer-generated face to a real-life experience, then this potential should be fully realized.”
In May 2024, a series of videos on TikTok featured FMA’s AI Filipina avatar, which was created with assistance from creative firm Dentsu Creative Manila. Face of Courage proved to be divisive, drawing laudatory reviews and enthusiastic acclaim in addition to the customary like, love, hate, or delete public comments.
It also includes 184k people who accessed the helpline directory, 35 million reach, and a roughly 564% interaction rate.
Nonie Tobias-Azores, the creative director of Dentsu Creative Manila, continued, “Our team is inspired to create work like Face of Courage by working with the trust that clients like FMA give us.” Our team keeps listening to and learning from the insights of seasoned community builders and online citizens in light of the positive feedback we have gotten for this. With the use of technology, we create meaningful and innovative work that changes lives.
One true story and one genuine woman at a time is how FMA is pushing for change through the Face of Courage initiative.