The University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) and the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (DOST-PHIVOLCS) for a project on experiential knowledge of disasters for improved science communication.
The research and development project titled “DANAS: Earthquake, Tsunami, and Volcano Disaster Narratives for an Experiential Knowledge-based Science Communication,” will harness the laypeople’s experiential knowledge of past disaster events using in-depth interviews conducted in local languages.
The socially inclusive and multi-disciplinary research results of the project will highlight the importance of science communication in terms of the usage of local languages in communicating scientific and hazard information for disaster risk reduction.
The interviews on earthquakes and tsunamis will be in Ilocano, Kapampangan, Tagalog, Cebuano, and Hiligaynon; while interviews on volcanoes will use the Tagalog, Bicolano, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, and Kapampangan local languages.
Chancellor Clement Camposano signed the MOA on behalf of UPV during a press conference at the PHIVOLCS Building, UP Diliman campus, Quezon City, on March 2.
Meanwhile, PHIVOLCS Director Teresito Bacolcol and Dr. Angelina Gonzales, DMMMSU Vice President for Research Development and Extension, represented their respective parties.
PHIVOLCS invited the two institutions to be collaborative partners during the proposal writing stage of the project in 2021.
The project shall be undertaken by PHIVOLCS as the lead implementing agency in collaboration with the DMMMSU-La Union College of Arts and Letters – Languages Department and the UPV College of Management, represented by Prof. Ramil Atando, the University’s Project Development Assistant for Crisis Management. Dr. Mylene Villegas of PHIVOLCS is the project lead.
Funded by the DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD), the project will run for two years and to be implemented nationwide. (With sources from Prof. Ramil Atando, PDA for Crisis Management)
