In this era of increasingly democratic dissemination of information, producing an educated public has become a huge challenge. As fake news and misinformation proliferate especially in digital platforms, and are passed on at unimaginable speed, it has sometimes created what the Chairperson of the Consular and Diplomatic Affairs (CDA) Program of the School of Diplomacy and Governance (SDG) of the College of St. Benilde calls an army of ill–informed and angry citizens who denounce informed citizens, intellectual achievement and distrust experts. This because in a democracy, all voices, even the most ridiculous, demand to be taken with equal seriousness, and any claim to the contrary is dismissed as undemocratic elitism. Thus, it is now, more than ever, that the utility and value of evidence-based research has become crucial, and this is what the 2nd SDG-CDA Research Colloquium advocates.
Moreover, as the SDG Dean says, social scientific research must be undertaken and shared within the context of accessibility and inclusion, consistent with the core Benildean values. For him, and for CDA Benildeans, research must also have the courage for otherwise it will be useless; validated facts and empirically-based arguments are to be defended with utmost bravery in the post-truth age and at times, against all odds and even when unpopular. This is at the core of the colloquium – to attempt to bring the Program’s research outputs beyond the academe and its high-brow tendencies and make them more meaningful and accessible to the public that they seek to empower.
The colloquium entitled “In Search of Evidence in the Post-Truth Era: The Role of Research in Framing and Addressing Issues in Governance, Development and International Relations”, features the research outputs of the SDG-CDA graduating students, alumni and Faculty members and professionals. Featured as well are research papers from students of the De La Salle University and Silliman University, and Faculty from UP Diliman – Department of Political Science and National College of Public Administration and Governance, and Ateneo de Manila University.
This event will be held on July 4, 2018 at Halle D’Aquitaine, 2/F Hotel Benilde Maison De La Salle.
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