KAAD Seminar in the Philippines
From 25 to 27 October 2024, KAAD, in cooperation with Miriam College Quezon and the KAAD Alumni Association AKAP ( Association of KAAD-Alumni in the Philippines ), held a seminar on ‘Building Nations, Sustaining Peace’ in Quezon, Philippines. It continued the theme of the 2018 KAAD Academy in the Philippines.
As the kick-off event for the seminar had to be postponed due to typhoon ‘Trami’, members of the AKAP alumni association, representatives of Miriam College and Dr Anselm Feldmann , KAAD Head of Division Asia, attended a joint dinner. Over dinner, the participants exchanged ideas and discussed initial thoughts on the seminar topic.
The following day, Professor Dr Raul C. Navarro (College of Music, University of the Philippines) opened the seminar with his lecture on the influence of music in the field of political activism and outlined its significance for both peace movements and authoritarian forces in the Philippines. Songs are a powerful way of mobilising large masses and offer opportunities to develop joint groups across differences within a society, according to Raul C. Navarro . Music can serve narratives and thus contribute to a shared identity of the respective group. Music was used in the Philippines by opposition groups as well as by the Marcos regime (in office since 1965, dictatorial from 1972 to 1986) to mobilise their supporters. To this day, music plays a major role in mobilisation processes, even outside the Philippines.
Dr Clarito Cairo (Department of Health of the Philippine government) then explained the importance of universal healthcare for social peace. Access to healthcare as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) is of paramount importance for the Philippines but is characterised by a high degree of complexity. Ensuring healthcare even in remote parts of the country with scarce resources poses major challenges for the Philippine government and the Department of Health, said Clarito Cairo.
addressed the complex problems in peace and nation-building processes. All too often, people are thinking within disciplinary boundaries. Systemic analyses are therefore required to develop new solutions. In most cases, however, only symptoms are treated: Separatists are imprisoned and the military presence in conflict areas is increased without knowing the complex root causes of conflicts. The goals and the processual nature of systems are rarely recognised.
To summarise, the importance of exchange at eye level, taking each other seriously, clear, egalitarian participation processes, recognition of mutual wounds and serious , also legal , reappraisal must be acknowledged as solutions. The peace process can only have a lasting effect if it is thought about and implemented locally.
Guests from German missions and foundations in the Philippines such as Mathias Kruse (German Embassy Manila), Dr Monica Fröhlich (German Academic Exchange Service, Manila), Dr Almut Besold (Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, Manila), Alexander Birle (Hanns Seidel Foundation, Manila) and Ambassador Laura Quiambao-del Rosario, President of Miriam College , also took part in the ceremony.
On the last day of the seminar, the participants visited a resettled village of the Aetas. The Aetas are an indigenous group in the Philippines who have strong cultural ties to the land they cultivate. However, they often feel left behind by the economic development of the Philippines. The village had to be relocated as a result of the last eruption of the Pinatubo volcano and increased earthquakes. Miriam College is endeavouring to scientifically identify ways in which the Aetas can participate in the socio-economic development of society as a whole. Dr Jeanette Loanzon , a partner committee member in the Philippines, is also helping the resettlement to ensure that sufficient school materials are available for the children in the village as part of her voluntary work for the organisation ‘Grail’. This is also a fitting contribution to nation-building and peacebuilding.
