News & Events

On November 25, 2022, the University of the Philippines Open University Office of Gender Concerns (UPOU-OGC) held a special session on gender considerations in online learning for this year’s 7th National Conference on Open and Distance e-Learning (NCODeL). The theme of the conference was “NCODeL 2022: Reimagining Education Futures.” Entitled “Gender Dimensions in Public Education and Healing Through Distance Learning and Interventions,” the special session was held via online conferencing and was chaired by Dr. Finaflor Taylan, Director of the OGC. The hour-long event, which also kicked off the UPOU-OGC’s line-up of activities for its 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against [...]

As part of the 18-Day Campaign to End VAW, the UP Open University (UPOU) Office of Gender Concerns (OGC) conducted the first part of the two part session webinar entitled “You and Me against Violence: Role of the Community in Stopping Gender-Based Violence” held last December 01, 2022.  Dr. Finaflor F. Taylan, OGC director  and Program Chair of the Diploma/Master of Social Work and the Diploma in Women and Development programs, formally began the webinar and welcomed all attendees. Dr. Taylan explained the title of the forum and the whole campaign which underscores the shared duty of everyone in ensuring safety [...]

  The Online Orange Exhibit: A Journey Towards a VAW-Free Philippines is launched by the University of the Philippines Open University Office of Gender Concerns to celebrate the 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women. It was launched on November 25, 2022, and will continue until December 12, 2022, the last day of the campaign. It tackles critical social movements, personalities, and groundbreaking legislation that helped Filipinas gain protection against gender-related violence. The exhibit aims to make more people aware of the history of the fight to end VAW, especially the rights of women enshrined under Philippine laws. Violence against women [...]

Dr. Finaflor F. Taylan, Director of the Office of Gender Concerns, was invited to serve as the subject matter expert for Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) in the 2022 Civil Service Commission (CSC) Public Sector Human Resources Symposium held last September 14-16 via virtual platforms.  Plenary and concurrent session speakers for the 2022 CS Public HR Symposium. Photo courtesy of Philippine Civil Service Commission The symposium started with Dr. Taylan introducing the attendees to the concepts of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion. She mentioned how despite many years and attempts to educate people on these concepts, it [...]

The Office of Gender Concerns opened the Gender Orientation site for new FMDS students last September 10, 2022 on UPOU MyPortal to introduce students to the office’s services and the policies they must adhere to as they enter the university. The portal also contains a recorded video that tackles gender sensitivity as well as videos and infographics on laws and university policies on gender. The new site also gives information on different ways on how students can report cases of gender-based violence. This includes the online reporting platform and the new Anti-Sexual Harassment email - [email protected] To gauge the familiarity of [...]

The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) through the Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS) and the Office of Gender Concerns (OGC) collaborated with the Women Sustainability Academy for this year’s Women Sustainability Forum held last August 31, 2022. The forum was attended by researchers, scholars, practitioners, and advocates for sustainability from different countries and was streamed live on UPOU websites. The forum focused on three topics namely Education for sustainable development, Gender, and Climate Change, and Future-focused Sustainability. Dr. Isabel B. Franco, the global chairperson of the Women Sustainability Academy, welcomed the participants and introduced all the speakers, [...]

Filipino Social Workers and My Aspirations for My Country Poem Writing Contest   The Social Work program under the Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS) and the Office of Gender Concerns (OGC) held a poem writing contest among Filipino social workers with the theme, "Filipino Social Workers and My Aspirations for My Country’. The contest ran from June 16 to 28, 2022 and was part of the celebration of the Filipino Social Workers’ Day being held on June 19 of every year, to recognize the role of Filipino social workers in the society.    The winners of the poem writing [...]