Dr. Amihan April Mella-Alcazar (The Philippines)
BIOGRAPHY: Professor Mella-Alcazar has a very strong affinity to Japan, and in fact has been a speaker for a JALT event. From 2000 to 2006, she was a scholar of the Japanese Government in Tohoku University. She graduated with a Ph.D. in Business Administration Major in Business Management and a Masters in Business Administration. Before she went to Japan, she was a practicing business lawyer in the Philippines and her projects involved Philippine government contracts with international companies. She graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Cum Laude), from the University of the Philippines.
Since 2006, she has been Adjunct Professor for International Business and Asian Business Systems at the Asian Institute of Management, Southeast Asia’s premier management school. She has also held Lecturer positions at top universities in the Philippines, namely, the University of the Philippines M.B.A. Program, the Ateneo de Manila School of Management, and the International Academy of Management and Economics M.B.A. Program.
As an NGO worker, she was one of the founders and member of the Board of Trustees of Buhay at Kinabukasan (Life and Future) Development Foundation or Bukid Foundation. The Foundation has the mission of raising operational funds for school children belonging to the indigenous community called the Mangyans, to provide literacy to the children and achieve the training of teachers for the community. She initiated and organized the volunteer teaching work began with THT in August 2008, completed the second THT/Philippines Seminar on February 2009 and continuing with her plans for more THT/Philippines seminars in the future. She has also initiated student traineeships with AIESEC (The International Association of Students in Business and Economics) since March 2001.
She also formerly worked as Head of the Women’s Desk at the Office of then-Senator, now Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, which lobbied for legal compensation to be given to victims of sexual crimes during World War II. Her advocacies include women’s rights. children’s rights and indigenous community rights.
Professor Alcazar knows several langugages: Tagalog (her mother tongue), English (native level proficiency), Japanese (fluent), Spanish (advanced), German (proficient) and French (fair).
LECTURE:NGO Work Towards Development In Asia (English Language Learning in Asian Societies).
The topic shall focus on the use of English Language Learning in Asian Societies as a tool used for community development. It shall emphasize the relevance of a high level of English language proficiency required of youth leaders if they are interested in development in Asian societies. It will describe the inter-linkages between different NGOs and how collaboration of special interest groups can produce tangible and concrete results in community development. The author will describe and discuss her experiences as an NGO advocate. She will then link two theories of learning to gain a high level of English language proficiency. The author’s hypothesis is that English language learning in Asian societies can propel rapid changes in development through collaboration between NGOs based in different countries.
Since 2006, she has been Adjunct Professor for International Business and Asian Business Systems at the Asian Institute of Management, Southeast Asia’s premier management school. She has also held Lecturer positions at top universities in the Philippines, namely, the University of the Philippines M.B.A. Program, the Ateneo de Manila School of Management, and the International Academy of Management and Economics M.B.A. Program.
As an NGO worker, she was one of the founders and member of the Board of Trustees of Buhay at Kinabukasan (Life and Future) Development Foundation or Bukid Foundation. The Foundation has the mission of raising operational funds for school children belonging to the indigenous community called the Mangyans, to provide literacy to the children and achieve the training of teachers for the community. She initiated and organized the volunteer teaching work began with THT in August 2008, completed the second THT/Philippines Seminar on February 2009 and continuing with her plans for more THT/Philippines seminars in the future. She has also initiated student traineeships with AIESEC (The International Association of Students in Business and Economics) since March 2001.
She also formerly worked as Head of the Women’s Desk at the Office of then-Senator, now Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, which lobbied for legal compensation to be given to victims of sexual crimes during World War II. Her advocacies include women’s rights. children’s rights and indigenous community rights.
Professor Alcazar knows several langugages: Tagalog (her mother tongue), English (native level proficiency), Japanese (fluent), Spanish (advanced), German (proficient) and French (fair).
LECTURE:NGO Work Towards Development In Asia (English Language Learning in Asian Societies).
The topic shall focus on the use of English Language Learning in Asian Societies as a tool used for community development. It shall emphasize the relevance of a high level of English language proficiency required of youth leaders if they are interested in development in Asian societies. It will describe the inter-linkages between different NGOs and how collaboration of special interest groups can produce tangible and concrete results in community development. The author will describe and discuss her experiences as an NGO advocate. She will then link two theories of learning to gain a high level of English language proficiency. The author’s hypothesis is that English language learning in Asian societies can propel rapid changes in development through collaboration between NGOs based in different countries.
Dr. Kevin Roy B. Serrona (The Philippines)
BIOGRAPHY: Mr. Kevin Roy B. Serrona is an urban planner by profession. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Community Development and a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of the Philippines. He took up his PhD in Human Security at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. He had internship experiences at the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) of the World Bank in Washington D.C., U.S.A. and at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) in Kanagawa, Japan while studying in Japan.
He had stint at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) working on urban waste management issues and monitoring and evaluation of World Bank-supported projects in the Philippines prior to studying in Japan. His research interests are in the area of project monitoring and evaluation, municipal solid waste management, ecological sanitation and participatory research. He is an active member of the Philippine Institute of Environmental Planners (PIEP) and the Japan Society of Waste Management Experts (JSWME). Presently, he is a researcher at Tohoku University, Japan.
LECTURE: Mitigating Climate Change at Local Communities: Waste-to-Energy Development and Social Participation in Municipal Solid Waste Management in Metro Manila, Philippines.
Open dumping in developing countries reflects a dire situation of poverty and environmental degradation. However, it is also characterized by a low-key yet vibrant informal waste recovery and recycling. It involves the informal sector consisting of marginal wastepickers and small junkshop owners who rely solely on collecting recyclable materials to be able to survive. But their work environment contributes to climate change with unregulated greenhouse gas emission (GHG) emanating from accumulated wastes. On a global scale, wastes emit 2.8% of the total GHG emission. This situation is alarming considering that the poor are the ones vulnerable to climate change. With developing countries like the Philippines trying to cease the operation of open dumpsites, social displacement has also emerged.
The passage of the Philippine Ecological Waste Management Act of 2001 has paved the way for significant changes such as the closure of open dumpsites, intensive recycling and energy recovery from waste. Interview with the wastepickers showed a positive attitude towards waste-to-energy (WTE) development as long as alternative livelihood is provided once the disposal facility is closed. A community-based plastic recycling enterprise in Pasig City, Metro Manila is likewise discussed using cost-benefit analysis to show its applicability in Payatas as a potential source of formal livelihood for the wastepickers. The topic aims to present the interplay of WTE and community participation in reducing GHG emission at the local level while sustaining economic opportunities for the poor. It also aims to present the overall solid waste management situation in Metro Manila and relevant solutions to address pressing solid waste management problems in urbanizing communities.
He had stint at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) working on urban waste management issues and monitoring and evaluation of World Bank-supported projects in the Philippines prior to studying in Japan. His research interests are in the area of project monitoring and evaluation, municipal solid waste management, ecological sanitation and participatory research. He is an active member of the Philippine Institute of Environmental Planners (PIEP) and the Japan Society of Waste Management Experts (JSWME). Presently, he is a researcher at Tohoku University, Japan.
LECTURE: Mitigating Climate Change at Local Communities: Waste-to-Energy Development and Social Participation in Municipal Solid Waste Management in Metro Manila, Philippines.
Open dumping in developing countries reflects a dire situation of poverty and environmental degradation. However, it is also characterized by a low-key yet vibrant informal waste recovery and recycling. It involves the informal sector consisting of marginal wastepickers and small junkshop owners who rely solely on collecting recyclable materials to be able to survive. But their work environment contributes to climate change with unregulated greenhouse gas emission (GHG) emanating from accumulated wastes. On a global scale, wastes emit 2.8% of the total GHG emission. This situation is alarming considering that the poor are the ones vulnerable to climate change. With developing countries like the Philippines trying to cease the operation of open dumpsites, social displacement has also emerged.
The passage of the Philippine Ecological Waste Management Act of 2001 has paved the way for significant changes such as the closure of open dumpsites, intensive recycling and energy recovery from waste. Interview with the wastepickers showed a positive attitude towards waste-to-energy (WTE) development as long as alternative livelihood is provided once the disposal facility is closed. A community-based plastic recycling enterprise in Pasig City, Metro Manila is likewise discussed using cost-benefit analysis to show its applicability in Payatas as a potential source of formal livelihood for the wastepickers. The topic aims to present the interplay of WTE and community participation in reducing GHG emission at the local level while sustaining economic opportunities for the poor. It also aims to present the overall solid waste management situation in Metro Manila and relevant solutions to address pressing solid waste management problems in urbanizing communities.
Dr. Yuko Sato (Japan)
BIOGRAPHY: Yuko Sato specializes in the research of the Environmental Education, Environmental Ethics and Regional Policy. She completed her master and doctorate of International Cultural Studies at the Department of Science, Technology and Environment in the Graduate School of International Cultural Studies of Tohoku University. She received her bachelor of Indian Philosophy in the department of Indian Philosophy, Toyo University, Tokyo. Her expertise is still expanding with more specialization in political philosophies which are concerned with social fairness and poverty as well as international relations.
Dr. Sato was a part-time lecturer for two years (2001-2003) in Bioethics at the department of nursing for Iwate Womens’ High School (Morioka, Japan). After receiving her PhD, she worked as a doctors research fellow in the Graduate School of International Cultural Studies at Tohoku University from April 2008 and is currently pursuing future research in International Cultural Studies there. In addition to her research at Tohoku University, she has worked as a part-time lecturer in Civics at Tokiwagi Gakuen High School (Sendai) from April 2009. The subject of Civics includes the contents of ethics, social values and problems, politics, and economy. She still continues to be committed to her research and she works hard to teach energetically.
While Dr. Sato was a graduate student at Tohoku University, she won a scholarship from Showa Shell Sekiyu. The research topic was ‘Environmental Education in India toward a sustainable society’. Not only did she develop the field research of the practical environmental education in India, but she also carried out further research in Korea with the help of a Tohoku University scholarship which is called the ‘Exploratory Research Program for Young Scientists’. Dr. Sato tries to combine theory with practice in her field of research. She is a member of the Japanese Society for Ethics, Japan Society of Environmental Education, and the Japanese Society for Environmental Sociology. She has published approximately 14 articles in research journals that she presented at international conferences. Dr Sato continues to actively undertake various research projects, do presentations and publish .
LECTURE: Problems Related to Sustaining a Natural Environment while Accounting for Improvements in Technology.
This paper will provide a better understanding of the heavy reliance on science and technology to solve many of the current environmental problems. There are two adverse views of the impact technology has on sustaining a natural environment. The first view maintains that improvement in technology can coexist and those improvements will improve the natural environment. However, the adverse view is that improvements in technology cannot coexist without causing deteriorating effects on the natural environment. For example, sewage and water treatment facilities in cities help keep water safe to drink. However, improvement in production of agriculture through the use of chemical fertilizers can have serious side effects on those who eat such food, hence the negative effects are higher. This paper will try to generate a discussion of the impact of technology on various developing as well as developed countries.
