Write up about the Conference
Discourse Power Resistance 14 is at its 14th year. Most of the themes in the conference are on papers raising questions on the democracy project, forms of resistance against oppression and poverty as seen and observed in varied countries, and poignant questions on development as applied in Third World countries. What is emphasized in the conference is the need for exchange among academics, researchers and development practitioners and planning for future direction for education, academe and research that can serve as catalysts for change. The conference enunciates greatly the role/s of the researcher and members of the academe to be directly involved in solving problems of oppression and making equity and development accessible to all.
Feedback on paper presented
Being the only Asian and the only Filipino presenter, the symposium and stream I was included in was well subscribed. All of the members of the audience liked both papers I presented and wanted to collaborate on future research projects.
Future directions of research presented
As a continuing research project for “Litany of an Ending Relationship,” because its primary focus is on losing direct ties with the environment, I will be writing on the experience on attempting at re-establishing relationship with the strait and the coast due to the recent typhoon Haiyan. I will write how our experience with Haiyan typhoon have made us realize the need to help each other, renew our ties with the environment towards a better society.
For the paper, “In-Between Spaces There Are Cracks,” I wish to go on field again and ask my participants what development direction they should take, given the current rural-to urban shift. I wish to know what development scenarios can be constructed based on the given space where the girls currently live. I will be using photovoice again but will deepen the use of community mapping.
Because both papers contain photographs taken by the girls from Matnog, Sorsogon, a suggestion made by one of the audience during my presentation is to compile and create a photo academic essay.
Potential foreign collaborators
- Dr. Jerome Satterthwaite- University of Greenwich
- Dr. John Blewitt – Aston University
- Dr. James Duggan – Manchester University
- Dr. Kamila Kaminska – University of Wrocklaw, Poland
Other important contacts and insights
During the conference, I met Dave Cudworth of DeMontfort University, U.K. who also studies girls and educational space. We talked about a project on bodies and spaces for girls that will pertain to learning. Another researcher I met was Kate Fitt of La Trobe University, Australia who conducts researches on girls and child protection. We compared notes regarding our observations on poverty, experiences of child abuse and we found out that our findings are similar. We might be writing a paper together on this topic.
Among the conferences I attended, DPR 14 is the most enriching. The conference had a very tight schedule but it was maximized. Even during break time, and after the sessions, there were constant exchanges among participants, convenor and session chairs. There were so many symposium and streams to choose from and all papers were very informative. The papers were placed appropriately in their respective symposium and streams.
The goal of the conference, which is to provide a venue for exchange, was actualized. What I liked the most is the idea of debunking the authority game. Everyone was open, willing to listen and helpful of others who need input in their research direction. This conference is far from the self-absorbed types of researchers. There is utmost respect for everyone who presented papers and inquiries and suggestions during open forum were conducted well. In this type of conference, the paper presenters do not feel that their research is being scrutinized; rather, the tone of questioning was for clarifications and for improvement. I think this has contributed greatly to the level of confidence of each presenter who tend to actively participate in all of the sessions.
Time was well spent on discussing pertinent issues on democracy and development and how the academe should take an active role in proliferating equity for all through research. Emphasis was made on collaborations among researchers. In which, the end goal is to establish networks and connections among each other. During the last day of the conference, all of us agreed that we will be setting up a blog where we can continue to talk and exchange regarding our varied researches. The symposium on space, where my papers belong to, will be putting up a special edition for Ephemera, a refereed and open access journal. While my other paper was invited for submission to a refereed journal.
Short write-up of one’s participation (to be used to feature/publicize the grantee’s participation in the conference)
Discourse Power Resistance 14 is at its 14th year. Most of the themes in the conference are on papers raising questions on the democracy project, forms of resistance against oppression and poverty as seen and observed in varied countries, and poignant questions on development as applied in Third World countries. What is emphasized in the conference is the need for exchange among academics, researchers and development practitioners and planning for future direction for education, academe and research that can serve as catalysts for change. The conference enunciates greatly the role/s of the researcher and members of the academe to be directly involved in solving problems of oppression and making equity and development accessible to all. Emphasis was made on the idea that the academic researcher should be able to theorize but also to practice and apply theories to social problems. Being the only Asian and the only Filipino presenter, what I realized is that the concerns of everyone, especially that which pertains to equity, development and attaining true democracy is common among us. Their problems may be different but still the end goal is the same.
Among the conferences I attended, DPR 14 is the most enriching. The conference had a very tight schedule but it was maximized. Even during break time, and after the sessions, there were constant exchanges among participants, convenor and session chairs. There were so many symposium and streams to choose from and all papers were very informative. The papers were placed appropriately in their respective symposium and streams. The DPR 14 conference, unlike other conferences wherein one takes part for compliance in promotion, makes you reflect on the kinds of research one is undertaking. Because emphasis is made on rethinking strategies for research where praxis should be the end goal of the researcher, much of the time was spent on good exchanges. One tends to forget that the sessions have already ended because everyone is still enthusiastic for exchange.
The goal of the conference, which is to provide a venue for exchange, was actualized. What I liked the most is the idea of debunking the authority game. Everyone was open, willing to listen and helpful of others who need input in their research direction. This conference is far from the self-absorbed types of researchers. There is utmost respect for everyone who presented papers and inquiries and suggestions during open forum were conducted well. In this type of conference, the paper presenters do not feel that their research is being scrutinized; rather, the tone of questioning was for clarifications and for improvement. I think this has contributed greatly to the level of confidence of each presenter who tend to actively participate in all of the sessions. This conference made me more confident because the ambience is very open, everyone is not self absorbed with their own research, and I also participated actively. I was able to meet and exchange with other researchers who conduct similar studies. I suggested that the exchange should not only happen during conference. Thus, there are plans for continuing such networks to create collaborative work among each other through academic blogs and the creation of open access journals. It was also suggested that future DPR conferences will consider live streaming to make it more accessible and to debunk the idea of convening for a conference for compliance purposes. The symposium on space, where my papers belong to, will be putting up a special edition for Ephemera, a refereed and open access journal while my other paper was invited for submission to a refereed journal.
I wish future academic conferences we will sponsor will be similar to this type to make it really enriching and to lessen the idea of participation merely for compliance.
