TDP Scholars Receive Stipends Today
October 20, 2025
KWF, USM-SWK, Nagsagawa ng Seminar-Workshop sa Ortograpiyang Pambansa, Korespondensiya Opisyal
October 21, 2025
Sambay P. Mla, a faculty member of the University of Southern Mindanao (USM) PALMA Cluster Campuses, participated in the 2nd International Conference on Multidisciplinary Approach in Research and Education for Humanity held both online and onsite at Almadera Hotel, Makassar, Indonesia, from October 6–8, 2025.
She presented on “Decolonizing Education through Culturally-Informed Pedagogy and Sustaining Indigenous Knowledge Systems,” advocating for the integration of cultural and indigenous perspectives in education. Her presentation emphasized the role of culturally informed pedagogy in preserving local knowledge systems and highlighted education as a vital tool for inclusion and cultural preservation.
“To decolonize education is to recenter our classrooms on local knowledge systems, to teach our learners that our own ways of knowing are valid, rich, and powerful. This way, we dismantle a layer of colonial silence,” Mla remarked.
The conference aimed to strengthen cross-cultural collaboration in humanities and education research while promoting decolonized, culturally grounded approaches to teaching and learning.
The event gathered scholars, researchers, and practitioners from Southeast Asia, the Netherlands, and New Zealand specializing in humanities, culture, literature, and the arts.
The conference was organized by the Afiliasi Pengajar, Peneliti Budaya, Bahasa, Sastra, Komunikasi, Seni, dan Desain (APEBSKID) Indonesia Affiliation of Teachers and Researchers of Culture, Language, Literature, Communication, Arts, and Design (APEBSKID), Universitas Muslim Indonesia (UMI) Makassar (Indonesian Muslim University), Lembaga Penelitian dan Pengabdian Masyarakat (Institute for Research and Community Service) , Fakultas Sastra UMI Makassar (College of Literature, UMI Makassar), and State Islamic Institute of Manado (IAIN Manado) – (State Islamic Institute of Manado).
In an unexpected moment, upon learning that Sambay P. Mla is a Muslim Filipina, the Rector of the Institute Agama Islam Negeri (State Institute of Islamic Studies) in Manado invited her to be a resource speaker for their Women’s Month celebration on October 11, 2025. Mla presented on “Muslim Women’s Influence on Social Transformation in Mindanao.” She described the experience as memorable, noting that the event was school-based and she was the only foreign speaker. The audience showed great interest in learning more about Muslims in Mindanao during her talk.
