Wherever I am, the world comes after me.
It offers me its busyness. It does not believe that I do not want it.
Now I understand why the old poets of China went so far
and high into the mountains, then crept into the pale mist.
"The Old Poets of China" by Mary Oliver

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the Philippines | A Class Lecture

Details
The AS 298 (Special Topics: Disasters in Asia) Class of Dr. Maria Cecilia T. Medina will hold the lecture "UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the Philippines" on 25 April 2025, 1:00 PM, PHT (GMT+8), Seminar Room, UP Asian Center. The event is free and open to the public. 

ABOUT THE UN OCHA

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) is the UN body responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies. It plays a central role in coordinating international relief efforts, mobilizing funding, assessing needs, and advocating for people affected by crises. Established in 1991, OCHA works to facilitate effective and principled humanitarian action in disaster and conflict zones, often acting as a bridge between governments, NGOs, and other UN agencies. Its goal is to save lives and alleviate suffering while promoting preparedness and resilience in vulnerable communities around the world. More about OCHA.
In the Philippines, OCHA was established in Manila in 2007 to complement the Government’s response to natural disasters and to strengthen humanitarian coordination. In September 2009, Tropical Storm Ketsana devastated Metro Manila, prompting the Emergency Relief Coordinator to appoint the Resident Coordinator as also the Humanitarian Coordinator.
OCHA’s presence in the Philippines was upgraded to a country office in 2010, with a dual focus: emergency response preparedness and response to sudden onset emergencies and the protracted conflict situation in Mindanao. Read more: https://www.unocha.org/philippines

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) is the UN body responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies. It plays a central role in coordinating international relief efforts, mobilizing funding, assessing needs, and advocating for people affected by crises. Established in 1991, OCHA works to facilitate effective and principled humanitarian action in disaster and conflict zones, often acting as a bridge between governments, NGOs, and other UN agencies. Its goal is to save lives and alleviate suffering while promoting preparedness and resilience in vulnerable communities around the world. More about OCHA.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

JOSEPH ADDAWE
Officer-in-Charge, UN OCHA Philippines
Mr. Joseph Addawe has been working as an Information Management Officer at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) Philippines since 2010. He was deployed to numerous emergencies in the Philippines to provide assessments and information management support and services. Prior to joining OCHA Philippines, Joseph worked as a Statistical Coordination Officer for the National Statistical Coordination Board (now Philippine Statistics Authority), as a data analyst consultant for the Asian Development Bank, and as a GIS Officer for Geodata Systems. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Statistics degree from the University of the Philippines Los Baños and his Master’s Degree in Geoinformatics (GIS) from The International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), The Netherlands.

ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS

This lecture is organized by the AS 298 (Special Topics: Disasters in Asia) Class of Dr. Maria Cecilia T. Medina for the Second Semester, AY 2024 – 2025.
For inquiries, please contact us at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 891-8500 loc. 3586.
The Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman offers M.A. degrees in Asian Studies with four fields of specialization: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. The UP Asian Center also has an M.A. program in Philippine Studies that allows students to major in Philippine society and culture, Philippine foreign relations, or Philippine development studies. It also offers a Ph.D. program in Philippine Studies in conjunction with the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. For an overview of these graduate programs, click here. As an area studies institution, the Asian Center also publishes Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, the latest issue of which can be downloaded at the journal's website.