Course: Panel Sessions

Topic outline

Chair/Moderator: Asst. Prof. Maria Lourdes T. Jarabe, Ph.D., UPOU DWD Program Chair and UPOU Office of Gender Concerns (OGC) Director

Venue: Bren Z. Guiao Memorial Multi-Purpose Center

Date and time: 05 October 2026 | 1:00 PM - 2:20 PM

A panel session in collaboration with the Asian Association of Women’s Studies (AAWS)

Theme: Co-Creating Gender-Inclusive Sustainability Transitions, Care Economies, and Resilient Asian Communities

	Discussants	Title of Panel Presentations
1	Dr. Aileen Park Faculty, Philippine Normal University Mindanao	Keeping Agusan Marsh AFLOAT: Co-Creating Resilient Communities of Practice through Floating Schools for Inclusive Sustainability Transitions
2	Dr. Mala Khullar (Online) Consultant, Asian Center for Women’s Studies Ewha Womans University	Are Women a “Flexible Resource” for family and work?
3	Dr. Kristi Elizabeth Poerwandari (Online) Professor, Department of Psychology Universitas Indonesia	The Role of Psychology in Gender-Responsive Sustainable Science
4	Dr. Odine De Guzman (Online) Professor, University of the Philippines	Everyday Humanities, Ecologies of Care: Adapting Feminist Care Theories and Practices of Popular Education toward Engaging Youth Participation in Sustainability Transitions

Chair/Moderator: Ms. Noreen Dianne Alazada

Venue: University Food Center (1st floor)

Date and time: 05 October 2026 | 1:00 PM - 2:20 PM

Theme: Towards a Community of Practice (COP) on Land Value Taxation (LVT)

	Discussants	Description of the Panel
1	Dr. Reymund B. Flores (Online) Professor, Politics and Governance Department of Social Sciences West Visayas State University (Philippines) and Senior Lecturer, UPOU FMDS	This session is also part of the Sustainable Shared Growth (KKK) Seminar series jointly organized by the UPOU Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS) and Sekiguchi Global Research Association (SGRA) of the Atsumi International Foundation (AISF). The KKK Seminars focus on mechanisms that would contribute to the achievement of sustainable shared growth, which aligns closely with the definition of “sustainability” in the Doctorate in Sustainability of FMDS/UPOU: economic viability, social equity, and environmental conservation. This KKK Seminar marks the first attempt to form a Community of Practice (COP) for those involved in research and advocacy of Land Value Taxation (LVT). COPs are “groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly”.
2	Mr. Juan Sarmiento, Jr. Journalist and Appraiser, Indie Media
3	Dr. Ferdinand Maquito Senior Lecturer, UPOU FMDS

Chair/Moderator: Dennis G. de la Torre, Chief Science Research Specialist, UPRI

Venue: University Food Center (2nd floor)

Date and time: 05 October 2026 | 1:00 PM - 2:20 PM

A panel session in collaboration with the Local Climate Change Adaptation for Development United Nations Association of the Philippines (LCCAD)

Theme: Localizing Creative Industries, Nature-based and Climate Solutions through Academe-LGU-NGA Mobilization

	Discussants	Description of the Panel
1	Mr. Manuel “Nong” C. Rangasa Executive Director, LCCAD Inc. Senior Advisor for International and Government Affairs United Nations Association of the Philippines	The Convergence Framework on Localizing Creative Industries Development: Tripartite Initiatives in the Province of Isabela
2	Dir. Al O. Orolfo, Ph.D. Director, Foreign Assisted and Special Projects Service, DENR Focal, EU-Philippines Green Economy Partnership	Strategic Thrusts, Programs and Priorities on the Localization of Green Economy Development in the Philippines
3	Ms. Gigi Merilo Supervising Environmental Management Specialist, Climate Change Service, DENR	The Roll-out of the National Program on Nature-based Solutions in the Philippines
4	Prof. Joane V. Serrano, Ph.D. Chancellor, UP Open University	Forging SUC/HEI Meaningful Partnerships through Transformational Digitalization in the Philippines

Chair/Moderator: Ms. Candy Hidalgo, Deputy Coordinator and Project Officer, Philippine Misereor Partnership, Inc.

Venue: Bren Z. Guiao Memorial Multi Purpose Center

Date and time: 07 October 2026 | 9:40 AM - 10:50 AM

Theme:

	Discussants	Title of Panel Presentations
1	Ms. Yolanda Esguerra Executive Director, Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc. (PMPI)	From Environmental Stewardship to Ecological Rights: Can Rights of Nature Reframe Sustainability Transitions? (Transformative/Ecocentric Perspective)
2	Dr. Maria Carolina Bello UPOU Graduate Certificate in/Master of ASEAN Studies Program and Member of the Philippines’ Indigenous Communities	Whose Nature? Indigenous Knowledge, Community Governance, and the Rights of Nature (Indigenous and Local Community Perspective)
3	Atty. Mario Maderazo Legal Counsel, PMPI	Does Nature Really Need Rights? Legal Innovation, Governance Capacity, and the Limits of Rights of Nature (Critical/Skeptical Legal and Institutional Perspective)
4	Asst. Prof. Jephte O. Muñez Program Chair, UPOU D/MLVM and Chair of FMDS Rights of Nature Committee	Rights of Nature and the Sustainability Transition: From SDGs to More-than-Human Development (Sustainability Science and Policy Perspective)