The Research and Creative Work (RCW) Division of the UP Resilience Institute, in partnership with the College of Human Kinetics, is designing a module for Physical Fitness in Disaster Resilience – an NSTP course for UP Diliman, and a basic resilience course for UPOU. RCW finalized the said module in a roundtable discussion at the RCW office last January 17.
Associate Professor Albert Dimarucut Assistant Professor Emmanuel Papa from the UP College of Human Kinetics, and Prof. Glecy Atienza, director of RCW, are spearheading the writing project and its translation in Filipino.
Going beyond the usual physical education courses offered, this new module is an applied physical fitness course that was conceptualized by the third quarter of 2023. Its initial step was a tango presentation made on the second day of the 2nd National Conference of the Philippine Academic Society for Climate and Disaster Resilience (PASCDR) last October 25-27, 2023.
Following the well-received PASCDR event is the International Conference on Geographical Studies 2023: “Performative Geographies: Spatialities of Embodiment, Performance, Ideology and Practice.” Held last November 24-25, 2023, Professor Atienza and Professor Dimarucut, via Zoom, showcased to international audiences the science of physical fitness and its similar utilization in earthquake response by neighboring Asian countries such as Thailand, India, and Japan.