The UP Open University (UPOU) featured an open discussion about women’s agenda on the 20th episode of OPEN Talk. This was held as part of the celebration of Women’s Month last March, and the first anniversary of the OPEN Talk program.
The episode featured UPOU Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS) Senior Lecturers — Ms. Katherine Viñegas, Senior Advisor of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmBH and Ms. Reina P. Olivar, Manager of RP Olivar Development Consultancy and Services. The event was moderated by Dr. Finaflor F. Taylan, Director, UPOU Office of Gender Concerns and the OIC Dean of the UPOU FMDS.
Ms. Olivar shared that women are vital members in the discussion and political discourse in the country, especially in conversations related to them such as the effect of the pandemic on the traditional and current condition of education. Teachers who are women often take a “24/7” route in work to provide expanded service to students to provide more understanding during this unprecedented time of a health crisis.
According to Ms. Viñegas, there is an obvious gap in the environment and what women go through, such as in agriculture, fishery, and others. The data available shows a lack of capacity to sustain programs for the environment where women can be a major part of.
Both Ms. Olivar and Ms. Viñegas shared that discourses about the pandemic are also political. They narrated that the government would not attain the same flow in the next six years if the pandemic continues. In conclusion, the participation of women in both leadership and governance is essential because of the abilities, skills, and knowledge that they can contribute. Women have direct experience about issues in the society and community that would broaden available discourses. To further their participation, it is important to provide women opportunities to participate and be listened to.
OPEN Talk 20 was organized by the UPOU Multimedia Center in collaboration with the UPOU Office of Gender Concerns. It was held on 10 March 2022 and a recorded virtual event can be watched via https://networks.upou.edu.ph/opentalk or https://facebook.com/UPOpenUniversityNetworks.
