Philippines-Australia Forum at La Trobe

Dr Raul Sanchez-Urribari is the Director of the Philippines-Australia Forum, and a Senior Lecturer in Crime, Justice and Legal Studies at the Department of Social Inquiry, La Trobe University.  His research focuses on constitutionalism, judicial politics, and the rule of law in comparative perspective, with an emphasis on contexts of democratic deterioration. He also has a strong interest in the internationalisation of higher education, particularly on international mobility and intercultural teaching and learning.

Raul holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of South Carolina, an LL.M. from Cambridge University, and a Law Degree from Universidad Catolica Andres Bello (Caracas, Venezuela). His work has been published in a variety of prestigious outlets, including The Journal of Politics, Law and Social Inquiry, the Annual Review of Law and Social Sciences, International Political Science Review and The Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, among others.

Raul is a Co-Editor at Thesis Eleven (Sage). He is currently the Vice-President of the Consortium of Undergraduate Law and Justice Programs (CULJP) and has served as Chair of the Section on Venezuelan Studies (SVS) of the Latin American Studies Association (2020-2022). He has written and provided commentary on issues relevant to his expertise to a variety of media outlets in Australia and globally.

Diana Heatherich (Program Manager of Global Research for La Trobe Asia)

Dr Anthony Moran (Associate Professor in Sociology & HUSS School Director of Graduate Research)

Rei Fortes (Liaison Officer and Copywriter)

Launch event for the Philippine Collection Exhibition

On 26 July 2023 the Philippines-Australia Forum (PAF) at La Trobe partnered with the La Trobe University Library to showcase the Philippine collection of materials and books - one of the many collections present at the Borchardt library.

Special thanks to Dr Robert Nery for being involved with this project and playing an integral part in reorganising and allowing the Philippine Collection of books and materials to be accessible to the public again. You can download the Philippine Collection Bibliography here [PDF 1.3MB]

“The Philippine Collection Exhibition has been one of the most important goals for the Philippines-Australia Forum (PAF) at La Trobe this year,” said Dr Raul Sanchez-Urribarri, Director of PAF at La Trobe.

“Working closely with the Borchardt Library and scholar Robert Nery to compile and curate this wide-ranging collection - we offer participants an opportunity to delve into the excellent resources our Library has compiled over the years.  This allows us to reflect on the changes that have taken place over time in Philippines Studies, and the many opportunities ahead.”

Read more about our Philippine Collection Exhibition here, written by Jason Cordi from The Philippine Times.

The exhibition is open to the public and is free to view, on the ground floor of the Library, until the end of August.

2023 International Research Forum on the Philippines (IRFP) conference

On 10-11 July 2023 the Filipino-Australian Students Council of Victoria (FASTCO) and the Philippines-Australia Forum (PAF) at La Trobe, an initiative under La Trobe Asia, held the 2023 International Research Forum on the Philippines (IRPF) conference.

This marked the first return of the IRFP conference in the post-pandemic era bringing together academics and scholars from the Filipino-Australian Diaspora to share their work, exchange ideas and open new opportunities in academia and the Filipino-Australian community. We featured several keynote talks including one from Consul-General Maria Lourdes Salcedo from the Philippine Consulate General in Melbourne and Associate Professor Bec Strating, Director of La Trobe Asia at La Trobe University.

Along with keynote talks, the conference also explored a wide range of research areas during our plenary discussion sessions presented by academics, scholars and community leaders in Australia and the Philippines. Across the two-day conference we delved into various subjects including arts, social sciences, STEM, media and journalism, NexGen Filipino Leaders, the origin story of Tagalog Learning Inc and women empowerment through social entrepreneurship.

Recordings of the plenary sessions can be viewed HERE. 

Photo by Mr Al Noveloso

History of the Filipino-Australian Diaspora and Philippine Migration

On 23 June 2023 La Trobe Asia and the Philippine Australia Network at La Trobe University hosted a panel as part of the series of harmonised events to celebrate the 125^th anniversary of Philippine Independence.

The discussion panel was engaging thanks to our five guest speakers: Melba Marginson, Kristen Aquino, Carl Anacin, Ana Labrador and Trevor Hogan who have worked extensively within the Filipino-Australian Diaspora, also sharing their personal experiences. This led to further discussions with our in-person and virtual audiences who shared their own insights and experiences over the years of being part of the Filipino-Australian community. We are extremely grateful to them for sharing their time and knowledge with us.

The event concluded with a powerful poetry and dance performance by Mr Matcho Makata and Filipino creative dancer Lil Strongside. Matcho's poems conveyed the challenges and struggles of being a Filipino creative artist in Australia, while also shedding light into the personal challenges of migrating to a foreign land away from your homeland.

The event can be viewed here.

Philippines in Focus Seminar Series 2023 - Seminar #4: Medical populism in the Asia Pacific

On 12 May 2023 Dr Gideon Lasco, MD, PhD, University of the Philippines Diliman presented the fourth seminar for 2023.

Dr Gideon Lasco's presentation shared a new perspective on responses to health crises through the lens of Medical Populism in the Asia Pacific Region. All three case studies which involved:

1) the controversy surrounding the Dengue vaccine (Dengvaxia) in the Philippines in 2017,

2) War on drugs by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in Thailand in 2003, and;

3) COVID-19 response in India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi

revealed how figures in political power simplify and exaggerate the gravity of health emergencies that often lead to a divide between groups of the public. Understanding Medical Populism through Dr Lasco's work shows the implications of communications during health emergencies and how it relates to various political agendas.

The event can be viewed here.

Philippines in Focus Seminar Series 2023 - Seminar #3: 'Global Mobility and the Power of Cross-Cultural Intelligence: Insights for Filipino Diaspora in Australia'

On 4 May 2023 Associate Professor Alfred Presbitero, MBA (International) Director, Deakin Business School, Deakin University presented the third seminar for 2023.

Associate Professor Alfred Presbitero’s presentation was a thought-provoking introduction to the concept, applications, and relevance of the concept of ‘Cultural Intelligence’, a topic that he has researched thoroughly over the course of his academic career.  He discussed the importance of Cultural Intelligence with special reference to the Filipino community and Australia’s multicultural context, advocating for more familiarity with the concept and its importance to achieve inclusion, transcend stereotypes and eliminate racism in different contexts.

The event can be viewed here.

Philippines in Focus Seminar Series 2023 - Seminar #2: 'Community, lived experiences and behaviours of Filipino gamers inside virtual worlds (spaces) in games'

On 16 March 2023, the Philippines-Australia Forum (PAF) at La Trobe University held its second hybrid seminar of the Philippines in Focus Seminar series 2023 exploring the communities, lived experiences and behaviours of Filipino gamers in the virtual worlds (spaces) of games.

Our guest speaker Ms Hannah Ruth Sison, academic, multimedia artist, model, and PhD student of Mass Communications at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, shed light onto the experience of living inside what might be referred to as the ‘transreality’ of Filipino gamers inside games that co-exist with our physical reality and often transcends the boundaries of virtual space and the physical world.

Philippines in Focus Seminar Series 2023 – Seminar #1: 'Distributed, Digitalised and Divided: Transnational Filipino Family in the Digital Era'

On 23 February 2023, the Philippines-Australia Forum (PAF) at La Trobe University held its first hybrid seminar of the Philippines in Focus Seminar series 2023 exploring how digital technologies are shaping the lives of transnational Filipino families.

We thank our guest speaker Dr Earvin Charles B Cabalquinto, an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow and Lecturer in Communication at Deakin University for sharing his work analysing the use of digital technologies amongst Filipino families living across international borders and how this bridge of communication presents unique opportunities and implications to maintaining long distance relationships.

Read more about Dr Cabalquinto’s work through his latest book (Im)mobile Homes: Family life at a distance in the age of mobile media published by Oxford University Press.

PAF at La Trobe would also like to thank Consul-General of the Philippines Ms Maria Lourdes M Salcedo and newly appointed Consul Mr Ralph Vincent C Abarquez from the Philippine Consulate General in Melbourne for attending our event.

Follow us on Twitter @PAFLaTrobe for latest updates on our events and activities.

Here are the recordings for the 2022 seminars of the Philippines-Australia Forum at La Trobe University.

Ms Maria Lourdes M Salcedo (Consul-General - Philippine Consulate-General in Victoria)

Mr Jan Sherwin Perez Wenceslao (Consul - Philippine Consulate-General in Victoria)

Dr Trever Hogan (Adjunct Senior Research Fellow in Sociology)

Prof Nick Bisley (Head of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences)

Prof Lawrie Zion (Associate Dean, Research and Industry Engagement)

Dr Sallie Yea (Tracey Banivanua Fellow – Planning)

Dr Brooke Wilmsen (Senior Lecturer – Anthropology)

Dr Kerstin Steiner (Associate Professor – Law Melbourne)

Professor Dennis Altman (Vice Chancellor’s Fellow and Emeritus Professor)

Ms Jenn Lee (Senior Lecturer – Digital Health Information and management)

Dr Shem MacDonald (Lecturer – Language and Education)

Prof Nicole Curator (Professor of Political Sociology at the University of Canberra)

Dr Gulzar Malik (Associate Dean, International Partnerships – School of Nursing and Midwifery)

Dr Raelene Wilding (Head of Sociology – Department of Social Inquiry)

Dr Alfred Presbitero (Senior Lecturer in Faculty of Business and Law – Deakin University Business School)

Ms May Red Zafra (La Trobe Alumni and runs Tagalog Learning Inc.)

Mr Andrew Albert Ty (Graduate Researcher in English and Creative Writing at La Trobe University - Ateneo de Manila University partnership)

Mr Gilbert Jacob Que (Graduate Research in Planning at La Trobe University - Ateneo de Manila University partnership)

Ms Marjorie Muyrong (Graduate Researcher in Sociology at La Trobe University - Ateneo de Manila University partnership)

Mr Francis Sollano (Graduate Researcher in Crime, Justice & Legal studies at La Trobe University - Ateneo de Manila University partnership)

Ms Jacqueline Marie Tolentino (Graduate Researcher in Politics at La Trobe University - Ateneo de Manila University partnership)

Mr Neville Jay Manaois (Graduate Researcher in Sociology at La Trobe University - Ateneo de Manila University partnership)

Ms Anna Torres Abblitt (Student Advisor in Shepperton at La Trobe University)

Mr Nikos Lexis Dacanay (Graduate Researcher at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society at La Trobe University)

Dr Steven (Steve) Muncy (Executive Director of Community and Family Services International - CFSI)

Mr Cliff Picton (Board Member at Community and Family Services International - CFSI)