With the COVID-19 pandemic posing an extraordinary impact on our world today, PLDT and Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), through its Better Today program, launched the “Time Capsule Project”.
The project is a platform where today’s generation of changemakers and mental health advocates create capsules of self-reflection and creative expressions. It is part of a series of mental health initiatives to be implemented all through May, in celebration of the Mental Health Awareness Month.
The Time Capsule Project champions mental health awareness amid the pandemic. It empowers the youth to take a deep dive into their current mental health state by expressing these thoughts, feelings, hopes and dreams through the power of art. These can be done through various forms such as drawings, paintings, poetry, or prose. PLDT and Smart recognize these as important and valid reflections of our time today. These serve as valuable lessons to learn in hopes for a better tomorrow.
This project is one of the key components of Better Today, which is a collaborative initiative and platform of PLDT and Smart in line with its advocacy to educate and empower Filipinos towards digital well-being, family and child online safety, and youth empowerment and changemaking.
The creation of time capsules is anchored on Better Today’s key narrative, which include passion and purpose, resilience, empathy and hope. These are things that enable us to become better versions of ourselves, enabling us to cope amid these dark and uncertain times.
Aside from art entries, the Time Capsule Project also include other mental health initiatives such as the visual arts and writing workshop and a virtual storytelling series on mental health called, “Better Today Conversations”.
Some of the changemakers and storytellers who will provide their messages of hope, include Words Anonymous, clinical experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) and advocacy groups such as MentalHealthPh and Youth for Mental Health Coalition.