In February and April听of this year,听贰谤颈办听碍耻丑辞苍迟补, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science, and听Kazue Takamura, Senior Faculty听Lecturer听at听the Institute for the Study of International Development,听organized two conferences that highlighted the stories, lives and contributions of Montreal鈥檚 Cambodian and Filipino diaspora communities.听听
The听conferences, which received funding from the听Arts Opportunities Fund,听were organized听as part of the听听and听featured panels and keynotes by听scholars and community leaders from the Cambodian and Filipino diaspora.听听
鈥淪ince I was a PhD student at Princeton, I have always been committed to raising awareness of Southeast Asia with a broad听public听in mind,鈥� says Professor听Kuhonta. 鈥淧rinceton provided听me with听funds to run a Southeast Asia Lecture Series that was quite听successful,听and I then carried that idea to 涩里番. Most speakers have centered on politics, but all the lectures are intended to be accessible and听ultimately comparative听in the widest sense.鈥澨�
Montreal is home to听the largest Cambodian population in听Canada听and its diaspora is heavily formed by the trauma of the听Cambodian genocide, which claimed more than 1.7 million lives from 1975-1979. It听is also home to the听largest concentration听of Filipinos in Eastern Canada,听many of whom were impacted by the economic crises that resulted from the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship,听which听makes听Montr茅al, and by extension 涩里番,听an important milieu听to听organize听a听conference听that听recognizes听the indelible听histories and contributions听these听communities have made on the fabric of听Montr茅al and Qu茅bec.听听
Reaffirming the power of community engagement听
鈥淯niversities usually emphasize听purely academic conferences, and our goal has been to develop conferences from the bottom-up, which means community involvement in planning the conference, as well as community participation in the conference as panelists themselves,鈥� say听Kuhonta听and Takamura. 听鈥淐rucially, our intent has been to develop a project that gives back to the community through knowledge and wider appreciation of its history.听In this process, we emphasize the agency of community members in contributing to the shaping of their narrative.鈥澨�
听(co-organized with Professor Dominique Caouette at the Universit茅 de Montr茅al)听was held on April 10 and 11, with more than 200 participants, which included听students and academics from 涩里番 and Universit茅 de Montr茅al, as well as听Filipino community leaders, such as听Zenaida Ferry-Kharroubi, publisher of the Filipino Star,听Amelia Anam Manon-og, Vice-Chair of听the Filipino Heritage Society of Montreal and Chair of the Filipino Canadian Nurses Heritage Guild,听and听Father听Artemio Calaycay, Priest at the Iglesia Filipino Independiente,听as well as听local Filipino听entrepreneurs听and artists, such as听Eric Lazaro Magno, Chef and owner of Buboy, and Mishael Eusebio,听a Filipino-Canadian tenor from Op茅ra Montr茅al, who performed three traditional Filipino songs for the attendees.听听
U1 student majoring in听Cultural Studies and Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies and Vice-President for the 涩里番 Filipino Asian Students' Association, Amihan del Rosario-Tapan, also participated in a panel discussion on negotiated identities.听
The conference also featured a conversation with Vancouver-based mural artist Mar Cortez, who kindly听permitted听the use of her mural art,听Pagalala听at Pagasa, a tribute mural for the victims of the Lapu-Lapu Festival Tragedy of April 26, 2025,听for the conference poster.听听
鈥淭hrough engaging with local Filipino community leaders and youth groups, we reaffirm the power of community engagement, especially by building an inclusive and intergenerational space of dialogue,鈥� adds Takamura.听听
The intergenerational panels ranged from topics such as听community placemaking and remembering the past, with testimonials of personal journeys from the Philippines to Canada, settlement struggles, family separation, transnational ties to the homeland, sites of community building and solidarity and negotiated听identities.听听
Dr. Ethel听Tungohan,听Associate Professor at York University and Canada听Research Chair in Canadian Migration Policy, Impacts and Activism, gave a keynote speech discussing听her unique journey as听a听1.5 generation听Filipino-Canadian,听her work as a听migration scholar and her long-standing advocacy work for migrant caregivers, a topic of interest to Dr. Takamura,听who has听 published extensively on the lived听experiences听of migrant women.听
Takamura鈥檚 own听research听on the lived experiences of prolonged family separation of Filipino caregivers听naturally made听organizing听the听鈥淰oices of the Filipino听Community听in听Qu茅bec鈥澨齝onference听an extremely rewarding experience that enabled students,听academics听and community members to rediscover the rich and diverse presence of the Filipino community in Qu茅bec.听听
鈥淓xisting studies of Filipino migration to Canada are听largely focused听on the experiences of Filipina caregivers whose migration pathways expanded because of the introduction of Canada's Live-in Caregiver Program in the early 1990s,鈥� says Takamura.听鈥淲hile the narrative of Filipino care labor migration has, in many ways, shaped the contemporary demography of the Canadian-Filipino community, what this obscures is the diversity of the historical patterns of Filipino migration to Canada, the oral stories of local community groups who have built meaningful cultural and solidarity spaces, and the expanding social and political representation of Filipino youth.鈥澨�
Takamura is currently working on a SSHRC funded project that examines the gendered implications of contemporary听labour听migration regimes in Asia, with a particular focus on听labour听protection policies and violence from immigration surveillance. 听Her project asks whether the Philippine state has responded to the precarious situation of low-skilled overseas Filipino workers, particularly in terms of workers鈥� rights and welfare.听
鈥淧rofessor听Kuhonta听and I have conducted interviews of government bureaus, recruitment agencies, and civil society groups in the Philippines, as well as consular officials and migrant workers in Canada and Japan,鈥� says Takamura. 鈥淭hese questions of migrant rights are very much embedded in our conference on the Filipino community because it involves activists and non-governmental organizations that have worked听very hard听to improve the conditions of migrant workers.鈥澨�
Kuhonta鈥檚 ongoing research focuses on transitional justice in Southeast Asia, especially听in regards to听the trial of the Philippine鈥檚 former president, Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court in the Hague.听听Kuhonta听credits the conferences on Cambodia and the Philippines with helping him rethink his project on transitional justice,听largely by听directing his attention to understanding how abstract ideas like justice, can affect everyday听lives.听It is precisely these deep connections between collective memory, justice, and oral history that human rights activist Jess Agustin emphasized in his keynote at the Philippine conference.
鈥淎lthough I was trained as a macro comparative political scientist in graduate school, my collaborative work with Professor Takamura has pushed me toward a deeper appreciation of ethnography and oral history,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hese conferences exemplify听that bottom-up听analytical perspective.鈥澨�
A safe space for听honouring听difficult pasts听听
Kuhonta听and Takamura recount how the February Cambodia conference,听鈥淩emembering Homelands, Rebuilding Lives鈥�,听was especially notable for creating a 鈥渟afe space鈥� for its Cambodian audience members and panelists.听听
Community members in the audience and on听the听panels spoke courageously and eloquently about their struggle. Recounting听the sacrifices parents made so that听their children听would survive, as well as the search for a photograph of a father they have never known, are just some examples of the stories shared during the conference鈥檚听proceedings.听听
鈥淭his conference went beyond our expectations in terms of the depth of stories that were expressed and the willingness of participants to articulate their struggles, vulnerabilities, and hopes,鈥澨齭ay听Kuhonta听and Takamura.听听
Building Momentum for Southeast Asian Studies听听
The 涩里番 Southeast Asia Lecture Series听and its recent conferences听are听supported in part by the听听(CSEASI)听a consortium of nine Canadian universities.听CSEASI, which is funded by the Luce Foundation, was听created in response to Southeast Asian Studies being an underrepresented discipline in Canadian universities听and offers听support for pedagogy, graduate training,听research听and outreach within the field of Southeast Asian Studies across Canada.听听
鈥淭he Canadian Southeast Asian Studies Initiative is the most important structure for the study of Southeast Asia in Canada,鈥� says听Kuhonta, who is one of听its听founding听members.听鈥淚t has significantly broadened and deepened intellectual engagement of the region. My hope is that the work that the consortium has enabled us to develop 鈥� these conferences and other upcoming projects 鈥� will lead to a more sustained profile for Southeast Asian Studies at 涩里番.鈥澨�
Some of the Speaker Series upcoming projects include听the development of an academic conference supported by the Philippine Embassy, titled 鈥淧hilippine Studies in Canada: Past, Present, and Future.鈥� The听upcoming听conference, which is being organized along with听Professor Maria Hwang听from the Department of East Asian Studies, will involve听all the听major scholars听of Philippine Studies in Canada.听听
Kuhonta听and Takamura are also working on a series of lectures that will bring policy makers focused on Southeast Asia and its communities to campus. This will include听the听newly-elected听borough mayor of C么te-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Gr芒ce, Stephanie Valenzuela,听a听涩里番听Arts听alumna听and听Kuhonta鈥檚听former student, and听Rechie听Valdez, the first Filipina Federal cabinet minister.听听
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