Ateneo de Manila strengthens partnership with VSU
Driven by the growing need for transdisciplinarity —where various disciplines collaborate to research a common goal, Ateneo de Manila University has partnered with the Visayas State University (VSU) to institutionalize gender, climate, and disaster resilience research.
University President Fr Roberto C Yap SJ signed a Memorandum of Agreement with VSU President Edgardo E Tulin and the Coastal Cities at Risk: Investing in Climate and Disaster Resilience (CCARPH) Project Leader Dr Emma E Porio.
"Together with VSU, we hope that we can find sustainable and gender-based solutions to the many problems that beset our country because of disasters. We in the Ateneo de Manila look forward to a future collaboration for the next three years and beyond for the sake of our country and of our people," said Yap.
In response, Tulin emphasized the importance of embedding gender mainstreaming in the overall operations of the university.
"In VSU, we are beginning to better appreciate the importance of applying a gender lens in all of our projects. In fact, when we craft any project for funding, gender responsiveness has always been incorporated in the proposals, especially that this is already a requirement for many government-funded projects."
The newly created VSU Gender Resource Center (GRC) will be the lead implementer of this research collaboration on behalf of VSU for the next three years.
Prof. Maria Aurora Tabada, GRC Head, expressed her excitement about the partnership.
"We have been engaging with Ateneo since 2014 but this is the first time that we have formalized our partnership with them. Considering our vulnerability to natural hazards in the region, I see that this is a great opportunity for VSU researchers to access the expertise of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology (DSA), especially in the area of social vulnerability analysis."
Identifying the connection between gender, climate, and disaster resilience are vital to CCARPH's research interests as the interplay is rarely examined, added Porio.
Witnessing the online signing ceremony were: Dr. Fabian Antonio Dayrit (Professor Emeritus of ADMU Department of Chemistry); Dr. Jose Jowel Canuday (Chair, ADMU-DSA); Dr. Maria Elissa Lao (Director, ADMU Gender and Development Office); Prof. Tabada (Head, VSU-GRC); Dr. Maria Juliet Ceniza (VSU Vice President for Research, Extension, and Innovation) Atty. Rysan Guinocor (VSU Chief Legal Officer); Dr. Allen Glennie Lambert (VSU Executive Secretary); Ms. Elsa Umpad (VSU Administrative Officer); Mr. Kenneth Kim Roca (Research Assistant of VSU Integrated Media Center); and Ms. Patricia Diana Ayo (Research Assistant of CCARPH).
