Conference Summary

by D. Bacalzo

The conference brought together global citizens in Switzerland and from Germany and Australia, with scholars, researchers and writers to discuss, negotiate and unpack the seductive paradox that haunts our thinking and sensibilities.

The event urged us to consider the social, economic and political mechanisms shaping our ideas, beliefs, affective responses, and practices today. Discussions touched on disasters and extra-judicial killings, human rights, health and disease, gender relations and identity, arts, language, remittances, and not the least, on what to do about these issues and how.

An answer is to go back to the basic of careful understanding and broadcasting of events and to conduct an analysis towards overcoming the divisive politics and dehumanizing moral economy. The idea is to comprehend what is moral and ethical, what lies behind claims for authenticity and authority (as for example with what is "the Filipino way" of doing things, or "culture at large"), and why people beg for dignity.

The conference concluded with the appeal for a humane universe as a unifying force to get us out of the quandaries and social divisions, as in the Philippines today.

(To read more, download the long summary provided below.)

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