Calendared Campaigns for Gender and Development 2021

Three campaigns marked the year for Gender and Development: Women’s Month in March, Pride Month (Celebrated in June and October) and the 16 Day Campaign against Gender Based Violence (from November to December).   Each campaign featured a theme, a University wide campaign and participation from the different units of the University from Basic Education to the Professional Schools.  Due to the pandemic, all activities were held online for the schoolyear.

Mission and Leadership: Women of Magis (8 – 31 March 2021)
The concept note for the year promoted “Women in Leadership in consonance with the UN Women’s theme for International Women’s Day 2021: “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world” as the University and the rest of the world find itself in this challenging mid-pandemic space. The University wide celebration highlights the leadership and innovation by a remarkable set of women in their areas of expertise and opens the space for discussion on the role that gender plays in undertaking crucial roles during uncertain times and their hopes for a more equal and inclusive future. The University has changed and will continue to change under the leadership of these women.  We invite the University Community to join the conversation.” 

 

The conversation for this year included women in University Leadership, Women in Student Leadership, Women in Science, Women in Sports, Women in Medicine and Law and Women in Governance and Development. 
 

Move with Love: In Celebration and Solidarity (7 – 16 July 2021 and 4 – 15 October)

Two months marked pride for this year: once in July with activities under the “Collaborative Practices,” “Socio-Political Action” and “Safe Spaces” and One Big Pride event in October.  In the concept note, it is stressed that Ateneo de Manila “strives to “uphold the human dignity of each person. We strive to cultivate a strong culture of respect for others in accordance with the Ignatian principles of conscience, compassion, competence, and commitment. We promote justice and equality that is rooted in genuine empathy and understanding of the struggle and suffering of others.”  (adopted from the Loyola Schools Gender Policy, 2018). The month-long program honors these ideals with a call for the University Community to move with love through a series of collaborative conversations, performances and activities that promote a just, humane, and equal world where we embrace “the call for gender equality and gender justice” and “reject and confront all forms of gender-based violence and discrimination based on one’s gender or sexuality.”
 

The campaign featured messages of support from the different units and sectors of the University including students, faculty, staff and professionals. 
 

Strengthening Safe Spaces: 16 Day Campaign Against Gender Based Violence (25 November to 10 December 2021)

In the last campaign for the year, the Ateneo de Manila University stakeholder further envisioned how it could “be a safe space for all community members.  In promoting this goal, a whole of university approach is needed to ensure that concerned offices, student organizations and trained individuals frontline University efforts against gender-based violence, including bullying and other forms of harassment and misconduct.  This is reiterated in the recently released Ateneo de Manila University Policy Statement on University Health and Well-Being: “The University endeavors to provide a social environment that nurtures positive relationships and interaction that foster personal, professional, intellectual, and spiritual growth. It seeks to afford members of the community a social space, both physical and online, that promotes peace and harmony and freedom from random and systemic acts of bullying, sexual and other forms of harassment, discrimination, violence, and abuse.”

The campaign championed frontliners and provides venues to learn more about the important work that they do to make the Ateneo de Manila University a safe space for all.  A series of conversations were held in late November and early December that included the following: A University Frontliners Forum last November 25 featuring SHS’s Lakambini and Mayari and LS’ CASMV and CGE ALS’s URDUJA and the University Gender Hub.  This was followed by a Frontliners and Implementors learning session on the 27th of November with all frontline SODI offices as well.  Finally, on December 4, the first GAD learning session was held with the UGDO and the University and Unit GAD Committees.