UP Mindanao convened representatives from the Davao Colleges and Universities Network (DACUN) to exchange ideas on the theme of “Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Regenerative Futures” at the DACUN Conference chapter of the Amuma Summit held at Acacia Hotel, Davao City, on April 22, 2026.
The higher education institutions (HEI) represented were Brokenshire College, Holy Cross of Davao College, Rizal Memorial Colleges, San Pedro College, University of the Immaculate Conception, University of Southeastern Philippines, and UP Mindanao.
In her welcome remarks, UPMin’s Chancellor Lyre Anni Murao spoke of the realities unfolding outside campuses and the subsequent challenges to education. “Our response cannot be business as usual,” she said. “Our role is to nurture the link between knowledge and lived reality and the people who will carry this work forward.”
She introduced the summit’s title, the Visayan word, ‘amuma.’ “This shift requires a language we can act on,” she said. “At UP Mindanao, we have begun to articulate this through what we call ‘amuma,’ which means ‘to nurture,’ or ‘to foster growth with intention.’ It is not a new invention, and it does not belong to UP Mindanao alone. It is ours,” she said.
Dr. Shepherd Urenje, ESD Specialist, International Consultant and Transformative Learning Expert, who served as conference lecturer and facilitator, saw the ‘amuma’ framework as aligned with the concept of ESD and transformative learning. “Social transformation is the goal of teaching and learning. If society is not transforming, then our teaching is falling short of what we are supposed to do,” he said. “I see the ‘amuma’ framework in transformative learning as ‘awareness,’ ‘mobilization,’ ‘upliftment,’ ‘mindfulness,’ and ‘accountability,’” he said.
In the roundtable discussion, the participants integrated insights from the lecture by sharing practices from their respective HEIs relating to ‘pag-amuma sa kinaadman (Education 5.0)’, ‘pag-amuma sa kasing-kasing (transformative governance)’, and ‘pag-amuma sa kinaiahan (regenerative campus)’. One HEI’s status as a top-performing school served as an example of ‘kinaadman.’ The ‘green campus’ initiative and the ‘no-plastic policy’ were other practices supporting ‘pag-amuma sa kinaiahan.’ The discussions showed that a balance of the three ‘amuma’ pillars within education could support a more holistic, sustainable, and forward-looking learning environment.
“In this conference, we were able to see and share our strengths and weaknesses,” said San Pedro College Director June Prieto, in the response. “We look forward to a collaborative DACUN project that can contribute to our students’ and Davao’s future,” she said.
The DACUN conference culminated the three-day Amuma Summit, which was preceded the day before (April 21, 2026) by the seminar-workshop on ESD for UP Mindanao academic program coordinators [view it here].
