by Philippine e-Sports Organization
The Philippines is referred to as the text capital of the world with 90 million mobile phone users and 2 billion text messages sent every day. Among all countries using mobile internet, the Philippines ranks 10th.
The Philippines is also the social networking capital of the world with a Facebook penetration rate of 93.9%. The country also holds the highest percentage of online gamers in the world; with 3 out of 4 respondents reporting that online gaming was their primary reason for accessing the Internet in both PC and Mobile platforms .
These statistics are remarkable given that the Philippines is still a developing country, with the potential of a widening digital divide, if digital access and digital content are not effectively managed.
E-sports can serve to bridge that digital gap, a creative medium that can open an innovative path out of poverty.
With the nature of electronic sports and its accessibility, It is easy to draw the interest of various sectors, including the youth and the masses, to learn simple games by teaching them basic computer operations. Aside from basic computer skills, those interested can progress to more complex games that require great hand-eye-coordination such as FPS (First Person Shooter) or to those games that require team playing such MOBA (Multiplayer online battle field arena) or to those that emphasize decision-making such as RTS (Real time strategy) games.
Using these games as initial doors to lure those interested among the youth from all classes, the Philippine eSports Organization (PeSO) envisions the use of games and computers to promote and develop other skills that will enhance the knowledge and other capabilities of the users. The Philippine eSports Organization would want to harness eSports as a tool to bridge the digital divide.
In the face of global competitiveness, the Philippine economy is ready to take off. Closing the gap of the digital divide, through eSports as one tool, will play an important role in the global shift to the information technology age and will provide opportunity for the masses to have a better chance out of poverty, through added knowledge and skills.
The establishment of the Philippine eSports Organization & obtaining IeSF membership (International e-Sports Federation) could not have come at a more crucial time when Philippine eSports is still at young and fragmented without standardization. Being a member of the International eSports Federation will enhance the capacities of the PeSO, especially to attain its goal of using eSports to help bridge the digital divide among peoples, among and within countries.
PeSO recognizes the lure of computer games for all sectors of Philippine society. Even those in urban poor areas have been observed to spend the equivalent of US$0.15 for internet time, including playing games.
PeSO sees that being interested in computers, especially games, can be the start of a whole world of further learning. Interested users can learn how to create other games by programming, graphic or even web designing and learn blogging & social media marketing.
PeSO intends to use eSports as the platform for human resource development that can meet the demands of an expanded global network of outsourcing centers and other sectors that will improve employment rates and the economic status of the country and enhance as well global collaborative initiatives.
To date, the Philippine eSports Organization in cooperation with Government and Non Government sectors, is now awaiting the implementation of the plan to help bridge the digital divide in a sustainable yet far reaching manner through the conduct of eSports tournaments.
Not only will the conduct of e-Sports tournaments in accessible participating centers attract more interested participants, portions of the proceeds will go into a charity fund that will be used to host free I.T. clinic in different towns and provinces in which participants are welcome to play, for free, any of their favorite eSports titles.
The participants, after 1 hour spent for games, will be given an equivalent 1 hour in free training in a section that interests them most: programming, web designing, social media marketing, graphic design, video or audio editing.
Those that show the most promising progress will be then given a chance to further the free I.T. education.
eSports tournaments can be held where winners who maintain a certain grade level can be entitled to a scholarship grant.
For more information on PeSO and it’s projects you may visit facebook.com/philesports or www.esports.com.ph
