Beyond Campus Walls: UDM Champions Gender Equality Through Community Partnerships and Barangay Engagement

Universidad de Manila reviews its 2025 gender and development initiatives while emphasizing the importance of stronger community partnerships in advancing women’s empowerment and gender equality.

MANILA, Philippines — Gender equality becomes more meaningful when advocacy moves beyond institutional boundaries and reaches the communities where women and families live, learn, and work.

Reaffirming its commitment to inclusive development and gender-responsive education, the Universidad de Manila (UDM), through its Gender and Development (GAD) Unit, conducted its Culminating Activity 2025 on December 10, 2025, at the College Health Skills Laboratory.

The activity gathered nine members of the UDM GAD Technical Working Group, composed of five men and four women, for a year-end review of the university’s gender and development initiatives.

Celebrating a Year of Gender Equality Advocacy

During the culminating activity, the GAD Unit Head presented a comprehensive review of the university’s gender-related programs and activities implemented throughout 2025.

The presentation highlighted significant initiatives conducted during March and November, particularly the celebration of National Women’s Month and the 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women and Children.

These activities underscored the university’s continuing efforts to promote gender awareness, women’s rights, and the prevention of gender-based violence.

The culminating activity also provided an opportunity for the Technical Working Group to reflect on the importance of sustaining gender-responsive initiatives within the academic community.

Strengthening Collaboration with Barangays and Community Partners

An important direction for strengthening UDM’s gender and development initiatives is the expansion of collaboration with barangay governments, community organizations, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and other higher education institutions.

Through potential community-based partnerships, the university can extend gender-awareness education, women’s empowerment initiatives, and violence-prevention advocacy to different barangays in Manila.

Such collaborations may include community dialogues on women’s rights, gender-sensitivity seminars, mentoring opportunities for women and girls, and awareness campaigns addressing discrimination and gender-based violence.

Working with barangay councils, local GAD focal persons, women’s organizations, and community stakeholders can help ensure that gender-responsive programs address the actual needs and circumstances of communities.

These proposed collaborative approaches can strengthen the connection between institutional advocacy and community participation, supporting the development of more inclusive and gender-responsive communities.

Advancing Regional and National Gender Equality Campaigns

UDM’s participation in gender-related observances, including Women’s Month and the 18-Day Campaign to End VAWC, provides opportunities to connect university initiatives with broader regional and national gender-equality advocacy.

Future collaboration with government institutions, universities, community groups, and NGOs could support wider dissemination of gender-awareness information and the development of coordinated educational activities.

By encouraging participation across different sectors, the university can help promote a shared understanding of women’s rights, respectful relationships, and the importance of preventing gender-based discrimination and violence.

These initiatives also offer opportunities to strengthen community engagement and develop partnerships that promote gender-responsive education.

Supporting SDG 5: Gender Equality

The university’s gender and development activities contribute to the broader objectives of Sustainable Development Goal 5 (Gender Equality), particularly the promotion of women’s empowerment, elimination of discrimination, and prevention of violence against women and girls.

The year-end review also reinforces the importance of institutional planning, monitoring, and continuous improvement in sustaining gender-responsive programs.

Through continued collaboration and community engagement, UDM can further strengthen its contribution to gender equality and inclusive social development.

Building a More Inclusive Future

The Culminating Activity 2025 served as an opportunity to recognize the university’s gender and development initiatives and reflect on opportunities for strengthening future programs.

As UDM continues to advance its commitment to gender equality, stronger collaboration with local communities, barangay governments, academic institutions, and civil society organizations offers a promising direction for extending the reach and impact of its advocacy.

At Universidad de Manila, gender equality is more than an institutional commitment—it is a shared responsibility that can bring universities, government agencies, and communities together to build a future where every woman and girl is respected, empowered, and given equal opportunities to succeed.