At the recent Oscar awards rites, stars had a field day plugging their pet advocates, and viewers got to see their relevant and committed side.
What about our homegrown luminaries, what are the important issues and platforms that they’re promoting through the more enlightened and purposeful use of their popularity?
Mikee Cojuangco is the face and voice of Anak TV, the group that works hard to make local television child-friendly. Some TV programs are irresponsibly injurious to the sensibilities of young viewers, so Anak TV deserves everybody’s support, especially parents and educators who want to make sure that television is a boon rather than a bane for the children they care for.
Mikee is also a World Wide Fund Climate Solutions steward and is leading WWF’s local Earth Hour campaign. She urges everyone to make energy conservation a part of their lives. Specifically, for Earth Hour, she reminds us to switch off our lights for at least an hour on March 28, from 7 to 10 p.m.
Mikee is also a staunch supporter of Gawad Kalinga. As for her acting career, she still gets good offers, but she’s still waiting for the right one. Maybe she’ll find it on the theater stage?
For their part, popular actors Dingdong Dantes and Piolo Pascual have their own advocacies in boosting the arts and are also keen on helping popularize indie films.
Pet advocacies
Despite her battle with leukemia, which she’s courageously fought and won, Monique Wilson keeps working hard for her pet advocacies, which include her New Voice Company and the One Billion Rising global campaign for women’s rights, which Eve Ensler has tapped her to lead.
Monique is one of our finest theater and film actresses, so we hope that, like Mikee, she will soon revive her thespic career. Yes, her advocacies are exceedingly important, but as George Clooney and Angeline Jolie have proven, they can be supported without curtailing gifted actors’ artistic growth!