Mari-An C. Santos, Tinig UK’s writer and copy editor, has been selected to participate in the 2023 Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship programme being run by Rappler and the Journalism for Nation Building Foundation. She has written a series of articles on the experiences of Filipino nurses working during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and has looked at issues facing Filipino domestic workers in the UK.
Her latest fellowship articles focus on how to stay safe when using online dating apps and when using the internet more generally.
Santos has also recently been awarded second prize by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) for her entry in the Crisis of Inequality Media Contest. Her winning article, “Inequalities at the core of Philippine migrant woes,” offers an in-depth analysis of the link between inequality and migration in the Philippines.
The Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship programme will equip journalists with skills and knowledge to better understand and address disinformation. Ten community journalists from all over the Philippines are participating in this four-month project.
The fellows will benefit from training sessions to be conducted by Rappler’s senior editors and members of its research and data teams.
In the Philippines, Santos has been involved in the environment and social justice sectors through the Cordillera Green Network and ABS-CBN Foundation’s Bantay Kalikasan. She has written on a variety of topics for different publications, including Entrepreneur Magazine Philippines, Cosmopolitan Philippines, Real Living Magazine Philippines, pep.ph, and spot.ph. She has also volunteered for Aiesec in Romania and Fundacja Feminoteka and Congress of Women Association in Poland.
Santos is passionate about the welfare of overseas Filipinos. Her MA thesis on aging Filipina women in Valencia, Spain was awarded Highest Distinction by the University of Granada in 2019.
Santos earned her Bachelor’s degree in Film from the University of the Philippines-Diliman. She has master’s degrees in Advertising and Brand from Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu (Romania), and in Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of Lodz (Poland) and University of Granada (Spain).
