The Democracy Discourse Series (DDS) project held its first public forum entitled “New Voices of Democracy in Southeast Asia” last 9 December 12, 2019, at the Salle de Lyon Marseilles, Hotel Benilde Maison De La Salle. This event launched the project by bringing together the DDS Public Intellectuals from Malaysia and the Philippines, working on artistic, journalistic, and literary projects that seek to redefine democracy in Southeast Asia. The event featured a roundtable discussion of the public intellectuals. The fellows from the Philippines include actress Mae Paner, TV anchor Christian Esguerra, photographer Raffy Lerma, performer Alon Segarra, and performance-maker/storyteller JK Anicoche. Meanwhile, the Malaysian public intellectuals are: director Jo Kukathas, youth activist Qyira Yusri, illustrator Charis Loke, LGBT organizer Ryan Ong, academic Gayathry Venkistewaran and journalist Tina Carmillia.
The critic, curator, and activist, Marian Pastor-Roces, delivered a keynote address entitled “The Democratic Imperative.” The public event is followed by a two-day closed-door workshop where all the Filipino and Malaysian public intellectuals discussed their projects. Dr. Ayame Suzuki of Doshisha University and Dr. Jazmin Llana of De La Salle University served as interlocutors to the public intellectual’s presentations. The workshop has also served as a platform where the fellows can network and find ways of collaborating with each other to enrich their project design and scope.
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