The Philippine Association of Administrators of Student Affairs (PAASA), Inc., in cooperation with Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan (SLB) held the 4th Interactive Youth Forum. The forum’s theme was “Citizenship by Good Example (CGW): Engaging the Youth Towards the Promotion of Human Dignity and Peace Through Confronting Discrimination.” It was held on February 14-16, 2013 at the Venus Parkview Hotel, Kisad Road, Baguio City.
This forum tackled issues and concerns regarding various forms of discrimination. It will also be a venue for both students and student affairs practitioners to plan concrete actions to confront discrimination through engaged citizenship and youth empowerment.
SEDPI’s President and CEO, Mariel Vincent Rapisura, was a resource speaker for the event. He shared his experience and thoughts on gender sensitivity and the lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals (LGBT). Mr. Rapisura introduced the concept of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. A lot of times, LGBTs fall prey to discrimination because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. The many ugly implications of discrimination include stereotyping, invisibility, marginalization, stigma, inequality and persecution among others. He stressed that we live in a world of diversity. Sexual orientation and gender identity should not be used for unequal treatment and discrimination. These should be discussed. At this juncture, Mr. Rapisura thanks the organizers and PAASA that provided a venue for the youth to know about sexual orientation and gender identity.
Mr. Rapisura also shared things that the youth can do to combat discrimination. These include awareness raising; push for the development of inclusive (school) policies; organizing; policy advocacy; documentation; alliance building and networking; and mainstreaming. To make the presentation more personal and engaging, Mr. Rapisura shared his love story.