The Ugyanang Pang-Aghamtao, Inc (UGAT) and the Philippine Geographical Society will be holding their joint regional conference on the theme “Dagat ug Kinabuhi/Maritime Cultures, Spaces and Networks” at the Silliman University, Dumaguete City from 22 to 24 October 2015.
The conference hopes to create an interdisciplinary regional forum (encompassing the area between the Indian and the Pacific Oceans) to discuss issues and debates revolving around maritime contexts as (structured and structuring) fluid zones of spatial connection and separation, and within which contemporary insecurities and vulnerabilities communities must find ways to keep afloat (Dagat ug Kinabuhi means ‘the sea and life [lifeways/strategies]’ in the Visayan languages.)
The conference is convened by Dr. Cynthia Neri Zayas of the UP Diliman Center for International Studies. Plenary speakers include Dr. Rila Mukherjee from the University of Hyderabad on “Island Southeast Asia Between Land and Sea” and Dr. Aurora Roxas-Lim, retired UP faculty member, on “History of Filipino Seamanship and Maritime Trade.”
Aside from paper presentations, film showings and a GIS workshop, there will also be two exhibits. The first is “Human seascape” which will feature photographs, diaries and a video of the lives of divers from selected provinces in Japan, Korea and the Philippines. The second is “Scarborough Shoal in Ancient Maps,” a cartographic exhibit.
More information may be found on UGAT’s Facebook page or on its website. The Conference Secretariat may be contacted at +63920-9823179 (Eizel Hilario) or +63917-6270776 (Enrique Oracion), or by email at[email protected].
