The University of British Columbia
Robson Square
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To Speak in Community: A Gathering of Philippine Languages and Cultures
August 19, 2023
11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
at UBC Robson Square (map)
About the Event
To Speak in Community is an informational, interactive half-day gathering about Philippine heritage languages and cultural sharing. An offshoot of hua foundation’s Language Access Project, this free event will feature presentations and programming from community experts, artists, and facilitators to share different perspectives that shed light on the vastness of the Philippines’ roughly 180 different native languages.
Attendees will have the opportunity to join in storytelling circles, interact with artistic works, and explore their own relationships to languages through facilitated prompts and discussions. The event will occur in two parts, covering topics including multilingualism, unpacking “language fluency”, language imperialism, learning in informal settings, and language differences between heritage homeland and diaspora. As an invited respondent, Dr. JP Catungal (Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice, Asian Canadian Asian Migration Studies) will be offering insights and themes addressed in the featured presentations throughout the event.This event is a culmination of the work done by UBC alumnae Kathleen Zaragosa (BA ’21), whose undergraduate research project was an exploration of Philippine heritage languages in younger immigrant generations. Her results found an expressed desire to build and create more spaces by, with, and for communities to hold conversations around this topic and to challenge the narratives of Philippine heritage languages and identity, particularly in diaspora communities that see a lack of language-learning opportunities. Heritage language learning and retention are inherently tied to the people and cultural identities they derive from, which makes initiatives such as these a vital aspect of community-building and cultural exchange.
The timing of the event coincides with August being “Buwan ng Wika”, or the Philippines’ National Language Month.
Event Schedule
11:00 AM – Welcome ceremony
11:15 AM – Research presentation by Kathleen Zaragosa
11:45 AM – Spoken word performance by Kaira Fenix & Friends
12:00 PM – Storytelling circles
12:30 PM – Lunch, served by Kulinarya
1:30 PM – Art presentation by Keegan Suazo
1:45 PM – Music performancy by Renee Fajardo
2:00 PM – Reflexive prompts and group discussions, led by Alexine Sanchez
2:50 PM – Closing remarks
Presenters
Kathleen Zaragosa (UBC BA ’21) is a second-generation Filipina immigrant, musician, and emerging researcher who specializes in language and culture. Between creative industries and academia, she is passionate about honing the voice as both an artistic practice and a vehicle for change. She completed her BA in Cognitive Systems at UBC and will be continuing her work by pursuing an MA in Language and Literacies Education at the University of Toronto in the Fall.
Dr. JP Catungal is an Assistant Professor in the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice and Academic Co-Lead of the Centre for Asian Canadian Research and Engagement at the University of British Columbia. Trained at the nexus of critical human geography and intersectional feminist and queer theorizing, his research, teaching and public facing work concern community organizing and cultural production for and by migrant, racialized and LGBTQ+ communities, and is informed by his own experiences as a queer, first generation Filipinx migrant. He was co-editor of the volume “Filipinos in Canada: Disturbing Invisibility”.
Keeyan Suazo is a Filipino emerging multidisciplinary artist based in Surrey, the unceded traditional territory of the Katzie, Semiahmoo, Kwantlen and other Coast Salish Peoples. With his work, he explores different narratives of transformation and stability. Within personal narratives of memory, identity and anatomy, and with interpersonal connections on familial and communal scales, he investigates and responds to the different systems that we are part of and the different systems within each biotic and abiotic body. This fall, he will be a third-year student at Emily Carr University of Art + Design working on his Bachelor of Fine Arts, majoring in sculpture. His works were featured in Flash Forward Incubator Program by Capture Photography Festival and Magenta Foundation (2020-2021), Emily Carr University (2021-2022), and in his recent installation for Burrard Arts Foundation (2023).
Renee Fajardo is a Filipino opera singer and producer, currently based on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. She has performed across the Philippines, the UK, and Europe and is an active collaborator in the music and theatre communities in Canada. She is the current Education Manager at Gateway Theatre and the Artistic Producer at Sound the Alarm: Music/Theatre.
Kai (they/he/she) is a queer, Filipino community organizer and creative and a Sciences Po-UBC Dual BA graduate as of 2022 (Political Humanities B.A., Interdisciplinary Studies [Non-Western and Indigenous medias and societies] B.A.). They currently organize with Sulong UBC, an anti-imperialist, national democratic Filipino youth/student organization at their alma mater, and the Joyce-Collingwood Neighbourhood Support Group, a collective of workers, tenants, students, youth, and community members created for folks to learn from and deeply connect with each other on the issues that affect us. They will be joined by Miguel and Kris, two other members of the Joyce-Collingwood Neighbourhood Support Group.
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