The University of the Philippines Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS), in partnership with UN Women Philippines, is conducting a short course on digital literacy, Safe in Cyberspace – A Youth Fellowship for Developing Capacity and Inclusivity in the Digital Sphere, to counter hate speech and promote positive online engagement. Twenty-five fellows will be chosen to participate.

The objectives of the project are to:

1. Build media and information literacy skills for young leaders, with a focus on women, to facilitate their positive digital engagement.
2. Craft, pilot, and roll out an interactive and inclusive training module that includes concepts of feminism and media, cybersecurity, safe spaces, and mental health, among others.
3. Surface and analyze emerging issues of young leaders, advocates, and cyber defenders on online security threats prevailing in the Philippines.
4. Equip and empower young leaders, advocates, and cyber defenders in creating positive content online and countering hate speech, misogyny, sexism, and other online threats to women towards using social media as a platform for advocacy building.

Activities

The fellowship is a series of five (5) small group discussions on feminism, cybersecurity, and online advocacy, including creative workshops on photography, videography, and digital illustrations. Each session is about 4 hours. There will also be optional coaching sessions where participants can ask expert mentors for feedback in order to improve their outputs.

The topics are as follows:

1. Disinformation
2. Feminism, Misogyny, and SOGIESC
3. Cyber Hygiene and Cyber Threats
4. Creating Positive Space
5. Feminist Arts and Media

The dates and times of the sessions will be based on the Training Needs Assessment to be submitted by the aspiring fellows.

By the end of the course, we expect the participants to be able to appreciate and apply the principles of feminism, methods of advocacy, and practices of inclusivity in the online space. The fellowship will culminate in a graduation ceremony and virtual launch of materials created by the participants. Three fellows will be selected to participate in the international summit of UN Women.

Applicants: Eligibility Criteria

• 18-25 years old
• Women and/or members of the LGBTQIA+
• Must be able to attend and commit time to all sessions in order to receive a certificate from UN Women and the UPCWGS

Interested participants may apply through the link: https://tinyurl.com/safecyberspaceph.

The deadline for application is on 10 September 2021 (Friday), 5:00 PM Philippine Standard Time.

Inclusions

1. Load allowance for data/internet
2. Meal allowance
3. Basic vlogging kit (ring light, microphone, cellphone stand)
4. Certificate of Participation
5. Chance to participate in the international summit

The University of the Philippines Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS) will hold a forum to present the 2021 Philippines’ Country Gender Profile on 16 August 2021 (Monday), 9:00-11:00 AM (Manila Time, UTC+8) via Zoom. The forum, entitled Pantay Pinas: Sharing of Key Findings of the Philippines’ Gender Country Profile 2021, will be the research dissemination of the update to the 2016 Gender Country Report of the Philippines.

Register at https://bit.ly/PantayPinas.

The 2021 Gender Country Profile for the Philippines covers 13 thematic areas, including the representation of women in decision making; gender, education, and participation in the labor market; gender and agriculture; women and health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and adolescent pregnancy; and women, peace, and security; among others. The Profile aims to contribute to the effectiveness of European Union interventions in the area of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the country.

UPCWGS Research Grant 2020: Research Dissemination Forum

The University of the Philippines Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS) invites everyone to the UPCWGS Research Dissemination Forum on 31 August 2021 (Tuesday), 2:00-4:00 PM via Zoom. Featuring the research projects of our 2020 Research Grantees, this event is the fifth session of the lecture series, “Site of Convergence: Weaving Tapestries of Knowledge.”

Register via https://tinyurl.com/RDF2021.

The featured research projects are:

Through a Feminist Lens: What Do Feminist Spaces Look Like During a Pandemic?
by Rowena Laguilles-Timog and Maritess Cruz

Impact of COVID-19 on Women in the Informal Economy in Quezon City
by Melanie V. Cabotaje, Bernadette D. Escoto, Joanna Rose T. Laddaran, Jaylyn D. Manglicmot, and Jefferson C. Sumalabe (Research Division, UP Institute for Small-Scale Industries)

Towards Justice and Accountability: Victims of Discrimination in UP Diliman and Their Modes of Understanding Justice
by Bryon Senga and Kristine De Torres

A Webinar on the Latest Updates Regarding the Airborne COVID-19 Virus

The University of the Philippines Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS), in partnership with the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (CIDS) Decolonial Studies Program and Program on Health Systems Development, invites everyone to the webinar, COVID-19 sa Hangin? A Webinar on the Latest Updates Regarding the Airborne COVID-19 Virus, on 10 July 2021 (Saturday), 2:00 PM via Zoom. Dr. Antonio Miguel L. Dans, professor at the UP Manila College of Medicine and convenor of the UP CIDS Program on Health Systems Development, is the resource person.

This event is free and registration can be done by accessing the link: https://bit.ly/COVID19saHangin.

To end its celebration of Pride Month 2021 with a bang, the University of the Philippines Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS) brings you a webinar entitled Better Together: Solidarity and Allyship with the LGBTQI Community on 30 June 2021 (Wednesday), 3:00 PM via Zoom.

Resource speakers are Hon. Marvic Mario Victor F. Leonen, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines; Hon. Lena Marie P. Juico, President Pro-Tempore, Chairperson of the Committee on Women, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, and third term City Councilor, District 1, Quezon City; Dr. Jimmy P. Dumlao II, Head of the ManilaMed-Medical Center Manila’s Gender Diversity Center; and Ms. Ana Marie Antonio, member of the Young Feminists Collective.

The panel of reactors includes AR Arcon of the Pioneer Filipino Transgender men Movement (PFTM) and LakanBini Advocates Pilipinas, Inc.; Naomi Fontanos of the Gender and Development Advocates (GANDA) Filipinas; Claire de Leon of the Lagablab LGBT Network; and Percival Cendaña of Babaylanes, Inc.

Registration is free and can be accessed through the link: http://bit.ly/BetterTogetherUPCWGS.

The University of the Philippines Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS), in collaboration with the UP Center for Women’s Studies Foundation, Inc. (UPCWSFI); UP Babaylan; Babaylanes, Inc.; Lagablab LGBT Network; Gender and Development Advocates (GANDA) Filipinas; LakanBini Advocates Pilipinas, Inc.; Pioneer Filipino Transgender men Movement (PFTM); Intersex Philippines; and Intersex Asia, brings you Kapihan with Pride 2021 on 22 June 2021 (Tuesday), 2:00 PM via Zoom.

Join us in an afternoon of pride, solidarity messages, games, and open mic sessions on various issues concerning the LGBTIQ+ community. Please make sure to bring your rainbow flag and other rainbow-inspired stuff, and have a cup of coffee with you.

Registration is free and can be accessed through the link: http://bit.ly/KapihanWithPride.

Time’s Up, Academia: Shifting Discourse, Reporting & Mentorship

The University of the Philippines Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS) invites everyone to the fourth session of the lecture series, “Site of Convergence: Weaving Tapestries of Knowledge,” entitled Time’s Up, Academia: Shifting Discourse, Reporting & Mentorship featuring Dr. Kathleen Cruz Gutierrez on 22 June 2021 (Tuesday), 10:00 AM – 12:00 NN (Manila Time) via Zoom.

Register here: https://tinyurl.com/TimesUpAcademiaNow.

Dr. Gutierrez will talk about how, as a graduate student at the UC Berkeley, she worked to address publicly the failures of sexual harassment reporting and response structures (https://www.dailycal.org/2018/02/13/laying-bare-berkeleys-metoo-moment). Dr. Gutierrez will also have a dialogue with representatives from school-based anti-sexual violence initiatives in the Philippines, namely Julia Martinez who is a high school student from the Philippine Science High School-Main Campus who proposed a prevention curriculum and harassment intervention plan, Sophia Caagbay who is the Deputy for Legal Aid of Sulong!, Danna Aduna who is an instructor of philosophy and the Publications and Research Coordinator of Time’s Up Ateneo, and Jaira Del Mundo who is the Education and Research Head of The Sanctuary Project UPD.

Dr. Gutierrez (https://history.ucsc.edu/faculty/profiles/index.php?uid=kgutie20) is Assistant Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She specializes in Philippine history, science and technology studies, and modern Southeast Asia. In 2015, she joined the UC President’s Task Force on Responding to Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence to influence policy reform across the UC system. She also organized with graduate students to demand more transparency for the campus adjudication process, which has since changed to reduce the number of hearings during which complainants are expected to verbally repeat their experiences of sexual harassment or sexual violence. For her efforts, she received the RISE Leadership Award from Berkeley’s Gender Equity Resource Center in 2017. She has shared her insight and experience with UpFront-KPFA (Berkeley, 94.1) (https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=229063), The Guardian, National Public Radio, and most recently, at the Promoting Gender Equity and Fair Practices in Asian Studies virtual panel of the Association of Asian Studies.