Regional Hearth Summits
lunas pilipinas 2025
Dates: Jan 14 - Jan 17, 2025
Location: Siquijor, Philippines
Language: Tagalog, Cebuano, English
Invitation to Lunas Pilipinas
The Hearth Summit Philippines will engage 150 changemakers in an immersive three-day journey to build a world that nurtures the well-being of our communities and planet. Join us as we define new levels of awareness about individual & collective well-being through the lens of traditional Philippine values. Changemakers will have the opportunity to explore their direct relationship to the natural environment and intergenerational healing through the arts, music, workshops and rituals. Special attention will be given to creating safe indoor/outdoor spaces for rest and critical reflection throughout the Summit.Nestled in the lush Central Visayas region of Siquijor, the Summit will leverage the island’s unique cultural heritage and natural landscapes. Once known as the mystical “Island of Fire”, Siquijor shares a rich history of traditional healing practices and environmental conservation. This is the ideal place to explore the indigenous ways of knowing and its overall impact on wellbeing.Let us learn, discover, and connect around the Hearth together. We look forward to hosting you on this collective journey to wellbeing and social change in the Philippines!560 S San Rafael Ave,
Pasadena
Speakers
Mae Paner
Political satirist and activist, Mae Paner has launched viral performances since the 1980’s especially with personas such as Juana Change and her work as a stage manager for the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA). She has used her art to protest issues from martial law to the war on drugs. In 2020, Paner started a feeding program called KAWA Philippines with her own money that operated out of her own garage. Now, KAWA is located at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) and has served more than 260,000 meals to what Paner calls her Beloveds- those who are homeless, persons deprived of liberty (PDL), survivors of natural or man-made disasters, and urban poor communities.Liza Largoza Maza
Liza Maza is a veteran legislator, activist, and champion of women's rights and the poor. Liza is trailblazer in the global women’s movement, having led Gabriela Philippines, the largest alliance of militant Philippine women’s organizations for over 20 years. She went onto become the first representative of Gabriela Women’s Party, serving as a Congressperson from 2001 to 2010. During her time in congress, she co-authored the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, the Anti-Violence in Women and Children’s Act, the Magna Carta of Women, and the Juvenile Justice Act. In 2010, Liza founded the Working for Empowerment and Good Governance Institute (WeGovern), which conducts education, training, research, and advocacy activities “to advance new politics with gender and democratic governance at it’s core.”Monique Wilson
Award winning actress Monique Wilson is one of the Philippine’s veteran theater and film actresses, having acted professionally since the age of nine, starring as the lead role in the original London West End production of Miss Saigon. She returned to the Philippines when she was 24 and founded the New Voice Company (NVC) theater group, with a vision to awaken, inspire and transform Philippine audiences with socially provocative and innovative political theater work such as bringing the Vagina Monologues to the Philippines. In 2014, she became the Global Director of One Billion Rising- a global movement to end violence against women and girls.Lester “Buji” Barbiera
Now You Must Aspire (NYMA) artist, Lester “Buji” Barbiera started as an internet meme sensation and became the visionary behind “First Bike Ride,” a cycling community advocating for improved roads in the Philipppines through widespread bike usage. Buji has used his internet fame as a TikTok sensation to share engaging stories and also to help important initiatives such as helping lead Filipino elders into the digital world of mobile apps and online safety.Adora Faye de Vera
Adora Faye is an artist, poet, and revolutionary. She was first arrested at the age of 22 for fighting against the Marcos Dictatorship and Martial Law where she was subject to numerous, gross human rights violations. Under the second Marcos presidency, Adora was again arrested and detained in the provincial jail of Iloilo in August of 2022 under false, multiple charges of murder. She was held for over a year before a court found no evidence or basis for her arrest or detainment and she was freed. During her wrongful incarceration, Adora wrote about the state of women in the jail, which highlighted the prison industrial complex making super profits from the traditional hablon weaving inmates are forced to do in order to be given basic needs such as water. Adora used her embroidery skills to record the stories of the individual women and global women’s rights everywhere.
Who are we?
The Weavers [Planning Team]
- Maitet Ledesma
- Keavy Vicente
- Jang Monte-Hernandez
- Annalisa Enrile
- Theresa Castillo
- Renee Smith-MaddoxThe Alchemists [Artist Team]
- John Deyto
- Ea Torrado
- Macy LeeThe Builders [Partner Organizations]
- Talang Dalisay
- WeGovern
- Siquijor Healers Association
- Keeping it 100
About LUNAS
As with many words, there is no direct translation that can truly encapsulate exact meaning. Lunas is no exception. It is the Tagalog word for “remedy” or “cure.” But, actually, Lunas is more than that – Lunas is not just a remedy or cure- it is an antidote, medicine for what ails you in the broadest sense, answers to help you get through a hard time. Lunas is an exhale after a long day, comfort for weary souls, balm for broken hearts, a practice of hope, and invitation to come to next to the fire of xxx.Lunas Pilipinas is our indigenous/native/cultural understanding of the Hearth Summit Philippines, where we will engage 150 changemakers in an immersive three-day journey to build a world that nurtures the well-being of our communities and the planet. Well being is at the heart of social change, and yet for many activists and organizations, it remains an elusive task that leads to exhaustion and burnout.We chose this word specifically because like “well being,” there are many different ways that lunas maybe in interpreted and its meanings range from the universal to the personal. For us, it is one of the ways we are defining new levels of awareness about individual & collective well-being through the lens of traditional Philippine values. We invite you to join us as we learn, discover, and connect – to answer the question with us- ano ang lunas mo? (what is your antidote? How do you heal?). We look forward to hosting you on this collective journey to wellbeing and social change in the Philippines!
KWENTUHAN / Sharing Stories
Kwentuhan means sharing stories. These stories do more than provide information- they are a way of building relationships, conveying life lessons, processing challenges, and even gossiping (also known as tsismis!). Kwentuhan happens at every shared meal or over endless cups of coffee. But, for Filipinos in the diaspora, it occurs mainly using
social media and texting. Lunas Pilipinas brings our kwentos, or stories, together as we prepare for the regional summit. This map is brought to you in real time, sharing stories of anyone who uses #lunaspilipinas, #fiveelementsthreedays, #hearthphilippines, or #kwentuhanlunas. We can’t wait to hear what you have to say.
TÁLAKAYÁN / Summit
Check back for:
- Summit Updates
- Program highlights
KAPWA/Shared Identity
Since the 1970’s, the Philippines has had a policy of Labor Export to support its economy, making the Philippines one of the few countries in the world that depends on their migrant workers as the source of economic stability and vitality. As a result, almost 12 million Filipinos (or 10% of the population) live and work abroad, providing more than 38 billion dollars in remittances annually (2022). Sometimes gone from the Philippines for decades or permanently immigrating to their new country, one thing that remains true is that even generations later, Filipinos in the diaspora continue to think of the Philippines as home, making the term balikbayan (return to homeland) truer than ever. How have these ties to culture and homeland remained so close? One of the many ways is through our value of kapwa.Kapwa is one of the main concepts of Sikolohiyang Pilipino and refers to the “shared identity” of Filipinos. Dr. Katrin de Guia also describes this shared self as the inclusion of others (people, spirits, animals, plants, rocks, bodies of water, etc) within the individual concepts of self as well. Lunas Pilipinas will talk about important issues like Intergenerational Healing and Ecological Belonging – guided by concepts like Kapwa.
We are starting those conversations now.
Sari-Sari Store/Our Marketplace
Sari-Sari Stores are small neighborhood shops (usually in front of a person’s home) that carries basic goods, special things like candy, and other things that fill specific community needs. The name comes from the Tagalog word for “variety.”