Decolonize Everything! Filipinos' reflections on Global Development, Health, Human Rights and Peace
A global pandemic and mass protests all over the world – against all sorts of oppression, from racism in the Global North to authoritarianism in the Global South – has forced many of us into collective soul-searching of what our futures could look like.
Four Filipinos who have experience working globally on issues that matter for the world as well as their own country offer their reflections on decolonizing our futures: in global development, health, human rights and peace.
In Tagalog, “kwentuhan” means to tell each other stories, often in a lively fashion, where voices overlap and narratives interweave. Join us in this informal, irreverent kwentuhan, where we share stories from our personal and professional lives.
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Speakers:
Arbie Baguios is an international development and humanitarian aid professional, having worked for international organisations including ActionAid, Save the Children, UNICEF and the Red Cross. He is the founder of Aid Re-imagined, an initiative that helps usher the evolution of the aid sector towards justice and effectiveness.
Renzo Guinto is a public health physician working at the nexus of global health and sustainable development. He is the Chief Planetary Doctor of PH Lab, a glo-cal think-and-do tank for people and the planet, and has consulted for various organizations including the World Bank, World Health Organization, International Organization for Migration, and Philippine Department of Health.
Ross Tugade is a lawyer with the Commission on Human Rights, the constitutionally-created national human rights institution of the Philippines. She is also a published writer and researcher on the topics of human rights law and transitional justice.
Reg Guevara is a practitioner of regional peace and security, especially as it concerns ASEAN, and the Jewish-Arab conflict. Professionally, Regine has worked with multilateral institutions such as USAID, ASEAN, UN Women, UN Habitat, UNESCO, but is happier than ever working at the regional level for her peace advocacies with South-South Cooperation Council. Having lived in different cities around the world, she takes comfort in the mystic Rumi’s saying: “If light is in your heart, you will find your way home.”
Moderator:
Frances Antoinette Cruz is Assistant Professor at the College of Arts and Letters, University of the Philippines, Diliman, and co-convenor of the Decolonial Studies Program at the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies.