The “Embracing the Currents: An International Conference on the Sulu Archipelago” gathered international experts and scholars recently to discuss Sulu Archipelago as a zone of deep and diverse possibilities.
The interdisciplinary international conference held at the Mindanao State University – Tawi Tawi campus on Nov. 12–14, 2024, provided an avenue for experts and scholars to look into various forces that have shaped – and continue to shape – the archipelago.
The conference was organized by the University of the Philippines – Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UP-CIDS) and the Mindanao State University – Tawi-Tawi, in partnership with the Philippine Studies Association (PSA) and with support from the Australian National University Philippines Institute.
The topics in the plenary sessions included commodities and governance in Sulu; gender, conservation, and livelihood; regional connections; historical and legal perspectives of Sulu, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), and the Philippines; and biodiversity and marine conservation.
PSA President and UP Visayas Chancellor Clement Camposano was the conference director, while some of the University’s faculty served as resource persons and moderators of the plenary sessions.
The resource persons from UPV included Dr. Rosalie Arcala-Hall, UP CIDS Executive Director, who presented “Networked and Nested Governance of the Philippines’ Southern Maritime Frontier; Dr. Victor Marco Emmanuel Ferriols who discussed “Aquaculture in the Sulu Archipelago: Current Trends and its Potential Diversification for Sustainable Development”; and Dr. Wilfredo Campos who talked about “The Biological Productivity of the Sulu Archipelago: Current Contributions and Future Potential.”
Vice Chancellor for Administration Dr. Farisal Bagsit and College of Arts and Sciences Dean Prof. Pepito Fernandez, Jr. served as moderators for the plenary sessions. (With sources from UP CIDS)