BukSU’s ‘GAD Resource Center, Corner eyed for provincial, regional use

MALAYBALAY CITY (OP-IPS) The recently launched Gender and Development Resource Center and GAD Corner in Bukidnon State University is not only for the university but for the city of Malaybalay, the rest of Bukidnon and Northern Mindanao, said Dr. Natalie T. Igot, GAD Focal Person for the Commission on Higher Education – 10 Regional Office (CHEDRO-X).

Dr. Igot said the GAD Resource Center is important in mainstreaming GAD in research, extension, and instruction.

She said the university through the GRC should demonstrate ownership or accountability of the country’s new paradigm of development, that is gender and development though mainstreaming GAD in research, extension and instruction.

“The University has an important role in the country’s development and GRC is a tool we can express and share our researches and creative works through instruction and extension,” Dr. Igot said.

She also shared her hopes in what the Center (GRC) can do to the university.

“Through GRC, BukSU will manifest a very impressive and notable gender mainstreaming in the academe specifically, gender sensitivity in all aspects of its function. GRC will become a model and a mentor among the HEIs and government units in Region 10 embedding gender perspective in all institutional policy, programs and activities”, she added.

BukSU virtually launched its GAD Resource Center (GRC) and GAD Corner on July 5, 2021. Dr. Igot joined BukSU officials and personnel during the launch. 

The GAD Unit presented a short video as virtual tour of the GAD Resources, featuring the different resource materials and GAD assessment tools available along with the database of the digital equivalent of the resource materials.

The establishment of the Resource Center is in line with the University’s mandate as an institution that provides higher education services where its gender mainstreaming initiatives include providing access to learning materials on gender and development, its concepts, laws, and issues will be utilized among the four-fold functions of the university.

The GAD Center is also one of BukSU’s initiatives in its pursuit to provide a niche where clients and other stakeholders, including partner agencies and institutions, can access resource persons and materials that will help them in their gender mainstreaming efforts.

 The BukSU GAD Resource Center houses learning materials on gender and development, both in hard and digital print, which can be utilized by researchers in their gender studies, extensionists in their gender responsive extension projects, students and faculty members in their classroom instruction. It also has copies of GAD laws and assessment toolkits that can be utilized by the university’s GAD advocates to help enable them in their respective units, colleges and satellite campuses to mainstream GAD goals and strategies in their plans, policies and programs.

Apart from the learning resource materials, the GRC also offers services such as trainings and seminars that will be provided by the pool of resource speakers trained for different GAD related topics such as basic gender concepts, gender sensitivity, gender mainstreaming, gender analysis and GAD laws and mandates. The Center (GRC) will also be the source of IEC materials on the different GAD issues and laws such as brochures, posters for dissemination to different offices and colleges, both for the main and satellite campuses.

 To provide broader resource materials on Gender and Development, the GAD Corner (GC) was also launched along with the GAD Resource Center. The GAD corner will include different books on GAD.

In her rationale, Ms. Chandrani Yves E. Estrada, the Supervisor of the Libraries said, “the GAD Corner will include references on the different dimensions of Gender such as identical, physical and socio-cultural roles and expectations. The GAD will also have e-books on Gender and Development”. Ms. Estrada expressed her hopes that the establishment of the GAD corner will help stakeholders better understand gender inclusivity or gender equity.

The virtual launching was done through the Zoom Application and streamed live through the university’s Gender and Development Unit’s Facebook Page. (Marichu B. Montecillo, GAD)