Leaders from different universities in Southeast Asia converged at the ASEAN University Presidents’ Forum at Naresuan University, Phitsanulok, Thailand on July 28 with the theme on green policies and practices.
Fr Roberto C Yap SJ, president of Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan, participated in the said forum where he presented the “Experiences of XU in Adapting to Climate Change” which centered on the impact of climate change or the "new normal" and how communities adapt to this paradigm shift.
In his presentation, he emphasized that a green university must reach out to build resilient and sustainable communities.
Yap also shared XU’s journey on developing the Xavier Ecoville as the country's first university-led resettlement community for TS Sendong (Washi) survivors and the implementation of its Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) program which included research, capacity building, advocacy and disaster response.
Besides XU, the panel of speakers included senior administrators from Universitas Negeri Semarang from Indonesia, De La Salle University – Dasmariñas from the Philippines, and Mahidol University, Chiangmai University and Assumption University from Thailand. The panelists shared on the environmental policies and initiatives of their respective universities.
Other participants of the forum included administrators, faculty, staff and students of the universities from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. This event was held in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Naresuan University.