National Museum Celebrates Women in Science, Culture and Arts

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The National Museum of the Philippines celebrated the participation and achievements of women in science, culture and the arts in its Women’s Month culminating program, “WE Empower: Women, Science, Culture, and Arts” held on March 25, 2023 at Western Visayas Regional Museum, Iloilo City.

Dr. Jurgenne Primavera, scientist and environmentalist; Professor Joyce Colon, cultural worker and educator from West Visayas State University; and Regina Peñafiel of community-based arts group Baryo Balangaw Creative Initiatives, shared how they are living their advocacies and passion in science, environmental and cultural heritage conservation, and arts with junior and senior high schoolers and college students from different learning institutions in the metro.

Through this activity, we hope to inspire women and girls to pursue careers in science, technology, and mathematics (STEM), social sciences, and arts, where the gender gap is still significant. From the speakers, we learned how war and conflicts can result in displacement, how young and women cultural workers are diminished in male-dominated work environments, how girls are deprived of the chance to study because they are girls, among many gender-based issues. They also shared how one can overcome those issues and how everyone, including males and boys, can help empower the marginalized, including the women.

Israh Marie Dayalo, the Gender and Development Officer of National Museum Western Visayas, discussed the Magna Carta of Women to raise public awareness of women’s protection against daily abuses.

The National Museum is at the forefront in the advancement of gender equality in the heritage sector. The Western Visayas Regional Museum has been working with women culture bearers and has been collaborating with women in natural sciences to help raise public awareness of our natural and cultural heritage through public programs and exhibitions, and in contributing to the body of knowledge through research.

The National Museum Western Visayas highlights the importance of collaboration in the heritage sector in working for gender equality and inclusive society as envisioned in the Magna Carta of Women and as stressed in this year’s theme “WE are all for Gender Equality, WE are all for an inclusive society.”

According to the Philippine Commission on Women, “WE” stands for Women and Everyone emphasizing the role of women themselves and everyone in the pursuit of gender equality. “WE” also stands for Women’s Empowerment, which can only be achieved when agencies, mechanisms, institutions, private partners, and duty-bearers from the national to the local level provide women equal rights and opportunities, and women take these opportunities to further themselves. (Maricyn A. De los Santos/NMWV)