Design for Ginhawa 🔆
Is there an alternative way of meeting human needs and dreams without further harming ourselves and the planet? Is there a Filipino way of sensing the world that presents an alternative to today’s dominant economic and political systems?
As the world goes towards an era of global boiling, triple ecological crisis, backsliding democracies, and widening inequalities, we invite you to find ways forward in our cultural inheritance.
This talk is an invitation to rediscover, reflect, and have an open conversation on a Filipino approach to designing towards a well-being that is shared (ginhawa). This talk is based on Kar Abola’s on-going research and thesis anchored on Sikolohiyang Pilipino, investigating the experiences, philosophies, and practices of those who use design for positive change.
Together, we will explore the questions:
👁️🗨️ Ano ang ibig sabihin ng makita at magdisenyo gamit ang mga lente ng Sikolohiyang Pilipino?
What does it mean to see and design through the lenses of Sikolohiyang Pilipino?
🌱 Paano nga ba mag disenyo patungong ginhawang at ano ang ibig sabihin nito?
How does one design towards ginhawang, and what does it mean?
🌍 Paano ang itsura ng ginhawa bilang isang kasanayan, design anchor, o bilang isang kolektibong gabay?
How might we turn the insights in cultivating ginhawa into an actionable guide? What does ginhawa look like as a personal practice, design anchor, or as a collective north star?
This is open to anyone, whether you are a designer hoping to explore sikolohiyang pilipino, a professional looking for a culturally relevant guide to actively decolonize your existing practice, or simply curious about the concept of wellbeing or ginhawa.
🖼️ Cover image credit: Planting Rice by Fernando Amorsolo
About the Speaker
Karina Abola
Design strategist and social researcher | Strategy Director at Dapat Studio
Karina is a design strategist and social researcher informed by a multi-disciplinary background in psychology and design. She is the Strategy Director at Dapat, a Filipino design studio entirely dedicated to designing for social impact. She is currently taking her MA in Social Psychology at UP Diliman, where her research, informed by Sikolohiyang Pilipino, explores the role of design in cultivating ginhawa for Filipinos. As an independent researcher, she has been part of research teams for pioneering design research in the country such as Crafting Futures: Sustaining Handloom Weaving in the Philippines, and Design Counts: Mapping the Philippine Design Ecosystem.
Links: https://www.instagram.com/karalso_/
Guest Poet
Steve Manzano
Bisayan Visual Artist, Poet, and Cultural Worker
Steve devotes his work to decolonization. As a student of Ifugao, Manobo, Andean and Mayan indigenous spirituality, he seeks to contribute to activating spaces and platforms through mindfulness practice, reimagining learning, and deep ecology. He was attuned as Reiki Practitioner, lightworker, practitioner of Philippine shamanism, and certified forest school leader level 1.
Links: https://www.instagram.com/ginhawa.art.of.journaling and https://www.instagram.com/deepecologyph
Host
Pilipinas Journal | Facebook and Instagram @pilipinasjournal
Pilipinas Journal is a Philippine-centered creative learning hub advocating for a more compassionate, livable, and socially just present and tomorrow. We design workshops and educational content that help rebuild local knowledge systems, strengthen communities, and celebrate diverse cultures and biodiversity that reconnect us back to ourselves and the archipelago we call home.