Statement from the Philippine Studies Group at the York Centre for Asian Research, York U

Statement from the Philippine Studies Group at the York Centre for Asian Research, York U

The Philippine Studies Group at York University is delighted to announce the commencement of a year of Philippines-focused activities in 2023, supported by a grant from the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.

On November 21st 2022, York University President Rhonda Lenton signed a donation agreement with Consul General Orontes Castro of the Philippine Consulate in Toronto. The donation, amounting to just over C$118,000, is part of a Philippine congressional initiative to support Philippine Studies around the world through a grant program administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila.

The Philippine Studies Group at the York Centre for Asian Research is especially honoured to receive funding through this program which has, since its inception in 2017, supported the development of Philippine Studies at major universities on three continents. Other recipients include: the University of London (School of Oriental and African Studies), UK; Ruhr and Humboldt universities, Germany; Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; the University of Michigan, USA; the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore; and Busan University of Foreign Studies, South Korea.

The donation, which provides our Philippine Studies Group at York with full academic freedom and discretion over the content and outcome of the activities, will support a variety of initiatives over the coming year. These will include visits from scholars, artists, activists and journalists from the Philippines, who will engage with both researchers and community organizations in Canada. The funds will also support faculty and student research in the Philippines, the expansion of Philippines-focused research materials in the York libraries, and the strengthening of academic linkages between Canada and the Philippines.

The Philippine Studies Group at York includes one of the largest groups of faculty and graduate researchers in Canada who are focused on the Philippines and its diaspora. The group is known for social science research and arts-based creation that reflect critically and thoughtfully on Philippine society and the experiences of the Filipino/a/x diaspora. Members of the group work closely with diaspora community organizations, advocates and activists in the Greater Toronto Area and across Canada. We look forward to engaging with community partners in planning the activities to be supported by this grant.

As a collective undertaking of the Philippine Studies Group at York, this initiative is also part of a longer-term vision for the development of research and teaching about the Philippines and its diaspora. Our goal is to move towards a full array of undergraduate and graduate courses, language instruction, field excursions, summer institutes, community collaborations, and cultural and artistic productions so that the Philippines and its diaspora are fully represented in our academic programming at York.

Philip Kelly, PhD
(he/him)
Professor of Geography
Associate Dean for Research, Graduate and Global Affairs
Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change, York University