On Saturday, 21 February 2026, The Philippine Times (PT) successfully held its Volunteer Orientation Session at Ross House in Melbourne, ushering in a fresh wave of storytellers to join the 35-year-old publication. Facilitated by Alice Nicolas (Print Publisher), Jason Cordi (Editor-in-Chief) and George Gregorio (Digital Publisher), the session focused on PT’s digital content expansion, which aims to plan and implement a gradual growth of digital content starting with social media and web, advancing to multimedia as expertise grows. At present, The Philippine Times has a multi-platform powerhouse spanning print, web and social media.
The afternoon kicked off with an icebreaker designed to foster immediate collaboration. Participants were challenged to identify their skills and to share why they wanted to volunteer.
A special highlight was guest speaker Dr. Fotis Kapetopoulos, Secretary of Independent Multicultural Media Australia (IMMA), who inspired attendees with his vision for the future of ethnic media and its role as a shield against misinformation. IMMA was formed in 2020 as a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic to provide accurate health messaging.
During his address, he emphasised why community-led journalism remains a vital pillar for the Filipino-Australian community. “When a crisis hits, it is these newspapers which represent your community that become the voice of your community,” he said. Fotis is a senior journalist and former editor of Neos Kosmos, Australia’s leading Greek-Australian newspaper.
Fotis underscored the role The Philippine Times as an ethnic media, mentioning that the focus should be on how to engage the specific audience. In his speech, he highlighted that newspapers are a way of “journaling our history” so it’s not lost in the digital ether. “You volunteer for yourself. If you wanna be a journalist, you would sacrifice a lot of your time for something you love… You wanna write? The Philippine Times is the first premise, because it’ll allow you to make mistakes. It’ll care for you as you journey through, you’ll learn how to do a billion things… So I think that’s what you need. You need to volunteer until you’re ready to professionally shoot up and lift the whole gang with you.”
The session also delved into the practicalities of the editorial cycle and the “Philippine Times Newsroom Hub” that will now serve as the central nerve centre for team collaboration. The leadership team outlined strategic content pillars, including community spotlights, event coverage, breaking news, government programs and cultural nuance. Volunteers were introduced to the “solo producer” model, learning to act as writer, photographer and editor simultaneously to capture the immediate impact of community events. They were also reminded of the high stakes of their roles, particularly regarding sensitivity, ethics and the importance of protecting the image of Philippine Times when they commence their writing and coverage.
Beyond the technical training, the session emphasised the professional growth available to volunteers, including building a credible portfolio and networking with individuals and leaders from different organisations.
The event was made possible through the support of the Victorian Government.
