For Election Season, Can the Gamer Vote Make a Difference?
When Benson Te, business development manager for Mineski, approached YouthVote Philippines to partner up for their upcoming eSports events, Richard Amazona was skeptical.
Amazona, 23, serves as the program officer for YouthVote Philippines. YouthVote is a program under the Young Public Servants (YPS). The group focuses on inspiring community action and inspiring socio-civic participation particularly for the young.
“At first we weren’t sure,” Amazona recounts. “We weren’t sure if we can engage them the right way. We weren’t sure if we can reach our targets.”
The more Amazona and his team thought about it, the more it made sense. The main goal for YouthVote Philippines has always been to inform voters both young and old about the issues that surround the election. Their first project involved having Te and Joebert Yu, head organizer of one of the largest video game expos in Southeast Asia ES-GS, help YouthVote come up with their new slogan.
But things quickly escalated into talks of an event where YouthVote would be involved.
On its surface, an eSports tournament was little more than a mosh pit; a screaming and tangled mass of young people cheering and chanting in front of a performance onstage. But Amazona and his team quickly realized that an eSports event gathered together an important sector of the youth demographic.
An eSports event, where kids met up and engaged with their friends and barkadas, provided a new marketplace for ideas. An avenue for gamers to talk about important issues.
An avenue to talk about society and give back to the community – from the gamer’s perspective.
MASSIVE. A large gaming crowd gathers to watch a Dota 2 show match in SM City Cebu. Esports demographics are primarily dominated by male and females, aged 15-18, placing them squarely in the target demo of YouthVote Philippines (Photo by Mineski-Dota).
Understanding the “Gamer”
In his college days, Amazona played Counterstrike and Dota 2. Even as a child, Amazona enjoyed playing strategy games like Battle Realms. Now, he uses the same lessons he learned from these activities to reach out to and inspire gamers to add their say in the conversation.
“Whether we want to admit it or not, the youth is our future. They are a part of Philippine society,” Amazona explained. “And from that demographic, gamers represent an important dynamic: they are a very creative and very passionate audience that will support a cause with all their might…as long as they are properly informed.”
And these traits are ultimately what led Youth Vote Philippines to take Mineski up on their offer. Starting with their E-sports Tour in Cebu, YouthVote makes themselves available on-site, ready to talk to gamers and get their thoughts on current events. Their ideas about the election issues. Who their favorite candidates are.
“I think what society doesn’t understand about gamers and the youth in general is that we aren’t apathetic. We believe that the youth can affect genuine change. You just have to understand them,” Amazona said.
“Gamers have so much to add to society and the Philippines,” he added. “Gaming is an activity that breeds strategic thinking, teamwork and communication. Can you imagine a well-oiled team of gamers who understand the issues, tackling a problem? They can run a country.”
GAME. YouthVote Philippines doesn’t just want to inform youth voters of election issues, they want to engage them in conversation to gather real solutions (Photo by YouthVote).
Harnessing potential
The challenge, of course, lies in the specifics. How exactly does an organization engage gamers to think about national issues and be a part in coming up with solutions?
“The first step was to really bring the conversation to them,” said Amazona. “Gamers are not a group that isn’t willing to talk and be a part of society. We began our goal of empowering them by going up to them and asking for their thoughts.”
Out-of-the-box thinking and the passionate pursuit of solutions define the gaming demographic – two traits that Amazona and YouthVote hope to harness.
“For the 2016 elections, there will be approximately 56 million registered voters. The Philippine gaming demographic numbers around 46 million. If only a fraction of those register and make their voices heard, they can affect real change,” Amazona explained.
“When President Aquino won the 2010 election he did so with only 15 million votes. By reaching out and talking to gamers, we can get to really demand change from the candidates or risk losing key votes,” he added.
For EST Cebu, YouthVote began by engaging participating gamers in conversation and getting their contact details for future events. These future events, Amazona described, could be anything from quarterly gaming sessions and hangouts to other eSports events sponsored by their organization.
“Gaming is such a social activity. You enjoy games with your friends and barkada. These events are where you get together and talk,” said Amazona. “Ideas are already being shared where gamers gather together and we can be sure that given access to information, they can talk about national issues.”
“At the end of the day, the key component to empowering the youth is belief. We believe that gamers have something to offer Philippine society in a way that only they can provide. We need new voices because our problems are being felt by everyone,” he added.
The future
With election season looming over the horizon, Amazona hopes that more of the young people will involve themselves in the national discourse. A discourse that will affect the whole Philippine nation.
“It’s time for us gamers to step up and show everyone that we can give back something higher than gaming. If we can take down an enemy castle guarded by a dragon, we can save this country.”
With Esports Tour hitting more cities in 2016, Amazona promises that YouthVote Philippines will make their presence known to help gamers be a part of change in the country.
Banner images from Mineski-Dota's Facebook Page and YouthVote Philippines Facebook Page
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