Chancellor Joane Serrano is a keynote speaker at the 11th National Conference for Social Studies Education (Photo Courtesy of 11th NCSSE Facebook Page)
The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) Chancellor Joane V. Serrano underscored the need to cultivate meaningful, reflective, and ethically grounded youth participation during her keynote address at the 11th National Conference for Social Studies Education (11th NCSSE), held on 8-9 May 2026 at Benitez Hall in UP Diliman, Quezon City.
Delivering her keynote speech titled “Power, Participation, and the Filipino Youth,” Chancellor Serrano challenged educators, researchers, and social studies practitioners to rethink how society understands youth engagement in an increasingly complex and digitally mediated world.
Her message delved into moving the participation of the youth beyond visibility or performative engagement, toward a deeper form of democratic involvement rooted in critical thinking, discernment, and responsibility.
She also highlighted the contradictions shaping contemporary youth engagement. While Filipino youth today are highly visible online and actively participate in digital conversations, visibility alone does not necessarily translate into empowerment.
The Chancellor pointed to social media platforms as dominant spaces where political learning now takes place. However, she warned that these digital environments frequently reward speed, virality, and emotional reactions over reflection and critical analysis, increasing vulnerabilities to misinformation, historical distortion, and polarized discourse.
To address these challenges, Prof. Serrano emphasized the need to create conditions that enable transformative participation. She called for learning spaces where students can think critically, engage in dialogue across differences, and navigate social complexity with empathy and discernment.
She likewise underscored the evolving role of educators, describing teachers not merely as transmitters of content, but as “shapers of public reason” responsible for helping students confront complexity and question dominant narratives responsibly.
“How young people understand power shapes how they participate. How they are invited to participate shapes how they understand democracy. And how we teach, guide, and accompany them shapes both.”
Concluding her address, Dr. Serrano called on educators and institutions to shift from performance to purpose, and from visibility to meaningful democratic engagement. She emphasized that the goal of education extends beyond academic achievement.
She ended with a challenge to the participants to help learners cultivate discernment in a time of noise, foster dialogue in a time of division, and build democratic courage amid uncertainty. “And in a time when participation can so easily become shallow or performative, may we help them discover participation with depth, purpose, and ethical direction.”
The 11th NCSSE, carrying the theme “Social Studies at the Crossroads: Power, Politics and Participation of the Youth,” also featured other experts alongside Chancellor Serrano, including Dr. Celestina Boncan and Prof. Jerom Ong from UP Manila, Prof. John Ray Ramos from Ateneo de Manila University, ADMU, and Department of Education Assistant Secretary, Dr. Jerome Buenviaje.
Written by Anna Cañas-Llamas | Edited by Primo Garcia | Photo from 11th NCSSE Facebook Page
