The UP Asian Center will hold the first installment of the Ambassador Lecture Series, "Role of Faith Based Organizations towards Indigenous Communities during the Covid-19 Pandemic" on 27 November 2025, 1 PM (GMT+8), at the Seminar Room, Asian Center, UP Diliman. The event is free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to register online.
LECTURE ABSTRACT
There are a number of indigenous communities in Davao City that are in need of various social services and development initiatives to sustain their communities and preserve their culture. They face issues such as lack of access to education and livelihood opportunities, encroachment of migrants and other developments on their territory, environmental destruction and climate change. In lieu of their marginalized conditions a number of faith based organizations (FBOs) have also come to their assistance as partners in their vision of building sustainable communities and maintaining their cultural integrity. The study utilized a case study design of two FBOs, the Josefa Segovia Foundation Inc. and the Archdiocese of Davao Indigenous Peoples Apostolate to understand the ways these organizations have assisted indigenous communities describing the strategies they employed specifically during the Covid 19 pandemic. In addition it sought to understand the challenges they faced in coping with the lockdowns and restrictions due to the health emergency.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
MARIA CECILIA T. MEDINA, Ph.D.
Professor and TriCollege Coordinator, Asian Center, UP Diliman
Dr. Maria Cecilia T. Medina holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology, Cum Laude, (1983), Master of Arts in Asian Studies (1991) both from the University of the Philippines. She obtained her doctoral degree in Sociology from Xavier University (2004). She has taught at the Department of Sociology, UP Diliman, Ateneo de Davao University and St. Paul University Quezon City. She was also a Fulbright scholar in a program on Religious Pluralism in the US and Public Presence at the University of California-Sta.Barbara in 2005. She is an Associate Professor at the UP Asian Center, and an affiliate faculty of the UP Open University and Tri-College PhD Philippine Studies Program. She had previously served as the head of the secretariat and coordinator of the Tri-College PhD Philippine Studies Program and was Assistant to the Dean for Administration, Public and Cultural Affairs and editor of the college journal at the UP Asian Center. She is a regular member of the National Research Council of the Philippines, former Vice President and presently in the board of the Philippine Sociological Society, currently a Board member of the Philippine Social Science Council and member of the International Sociological Association Her publications and research interests are on Asian religions and cultures, Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic relations, Disaster and Southeast Asian Studies.
ABOUT THE LECTURE
As a recipient of the Simeon Datumanong Professorial Chair Award 2024-2025 sponsored by the UP Foundation, Dr. Medina will present the findings of her current research project. The public is welcome to attend the public lecture and ask questions. This activity is organized by the UP Asian Center as part of its 70th founding anniversary.