Put your hometown on the map, Smart tells students

MANILA, Philippines - 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. Wireless leader Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) 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 the corners of the country — as told by the residents themselves. This year, DPSA transforms into a collaborative mapping mega-project that aims to collect as many stories from all places in the Philippines through uploading and sharing of original local multimedia content like photos, videos and more.

“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 all in one place. This mapping project is it.”

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. Form your team of 8-10 members with a maximum of three teacher-coaches. Register now at www.doonposaamin.ph and send your topic proposals. Registration is until Aug. 31 but you have to hurry because there can never be duplicate stories.

Come 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, stories and more on the map, marked right at the very spots where these stories originate. After the competition, DPSA will have an entire Philippine map filled with stories created by participants all over the country. That can be accessed and enjoyed by all Internet users around the world.

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

So go put the spotlight on your hometown’s pride. Go to www.doonposaamin.ph or join the official www.facebook.com/doonposaamin for contest updates, tips and tricks. DPSA is supported by the Department of Education and Nokia Location and Commerce.