SIGA: A Gender
Sensitivity Seminar conducted by SACSI Volunteers
The Social Awareness and Community Service Involvement
(SACSI) Office, through its Volunteer program, conducted a seminar on gender
sensitivity entitled “SIGA: Social Involvement in Gender Awareness” on November
22 & 29, 2014 at the Carlos Dominguez Conference Hall (CDCH). The seminar
aimed to raise the students’ awareness about the different types of gender
preferences, the different stigmas involved, as well as ways to correct them.
Moreover, the seminar also intended to encourage the participants to be more
sensitive towards the members of the marginalized gender preferences. There
were a total of 37 participants coming from the different FFP classes.
During the first day of the seminar, the students were given
lectures on different topics involving gender awareness. They learned how to
differentiate between gender, sex and sexuality; how to differentiate one’s
gender preference over the other; and how to respect and uphold the rights of
those who are part of the marginalized gendes. Speakers of these different
topics were selected senior SACSI volunteers as well as Ms. Darlane Sabellano
of Western Mindanao State University.
The participants were also tasked to conduct social
experiments (which were recorded on video) as outputs of the seminar where they
were expected to discover the different reactions of the Ateneo students after
seeing couples, may they be heterosexual or homosexual, display their affection
publicly. The participants were grouped into three for this activity. Their
outputs were then presented during the second day of the said seminar.
Upon having a positive outcome from the seminar, the
Volunteer Program of SACSI office hopes to conduct similar seminars in the
future to raise the Ateneo students’ social awareness on issues relevant to
their generation.
