The UP Asian Center will be hosting the onsite symposium "Inter-Regional Human Mobility in the Era of Geopolitical and Social Uncertainties" on 22 September 2026, 1:30 PM, PHT, at the Japan Hall, UP Asian Center. The event is free and open to the public, but online registration is recommended due to limited slots.
ABOUT THE SYMPOSIUM
The cross-regional movement of people, including migrants, overseas workers, internally displaced persons, and refugees has increasingly become an important subject in both academic scholarship and public discourse. Across Asia, patterns of migration continue to shape societies, economies, and interstate relations,
particularly amid growing geopolitical tensions, demographic changes, and social uncertainties.
Historically, Southeast Asia has long served as a dynamic crossroads of peoples, cultures, and commerce. Often referred to by historians as the "lands below the wind," the region has functioned as a vast interconnected space linking West Asia, Northeast Asia, and South Asia through extensive land and maritime networks. These historical patterns of mobility continue to influence present-day migration systems throughout the region.
Recent developments have further highlighted the significance of human mobility. Labor migration from the Philippines to aging East Asian societies such as Japan and South Korea has contributed to changes in labor markets, healthcare systems, and social security arrangements. Meanwhile, large-scale displacement caused by conflict in the Gulf region has resulted in increased cross-border movements of refugees and humanitarian migrants, creating both opportunities and challenges for receiving communities while reshaping geopolitical relations among sending and destination countries.
To examine these issues, the UP Asian Center, in collaboration with the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies – Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA-TUFS) and the Japan Foundation Manila, will organize the symposium "Inter-Regional Human Mobility in the Era of Geopolitical and Social Uncertainties." Bringing together Filipino and Japanese scholars, the symposium will provide interdisciplinary and transnational perspectives on migration across Asia and examine the political, economic, and social implications of cross-regional human mobility. The discussions aim to foster greater understanding of the challenges confronting migrants and refugees while exploring the evolving geopolitical conditions that continue to shape mobility and human rights throughout the region.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Migration between the Philippines and the Middle East/ East Malaysia
NAOMI HOSODA
Nagasaki University, Japan
Naomi Hosoda, Ph.D., is a Professor at the School of Global Humanities and Social Sciences at Nagasaki University, Japan. Her research focuses on cultural anthropology, Southeast Asian studies, and international labor migration, with particular emphasis on Filipino migration, migrant workers in the Arab Gulf States, migrant societies in Dubai, and family and kinship systems in Southeast Asia. Her work also examines the experiences and citizenship of second-generation Asian migrants in the Gulf, as well as community-based resilience against natural disasters in the Philippines. She has led several research projects funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), including studies on Filipino migrants in the UAE and second-generation Asian Gulf migrants. Her publications have appeared in journals and edited volumes on migration, Southeast Asian studies, and Gulf societies, and she has presented her research at international conferences and academic institutions in Asia, North America, and the Middle East. Hosoda holds a master's degree in Political Studies from Queen's University at Kingston, Canada, and a doctoral degree in Area Studies from Kyoto University.
Filipino/Southeast Asian migration to the Gulf Region
FROILAN MALIT, JR.
Visiting Researcher, Asian Center, UP Diliman
Froilan Malit Jr. is a doctoral researcher in the Department of Politics and International Studies at SOAS University of London, where his UBEL-DTP ESRC-funded dissertation examines multilateral migration diplomacy in South-South migration contexts, particularly the Asia-Gulf corridor. His research interests lie at the intersection of international relations, comparative politics, regional studies, and migration governance. He is currently a Visiting Scholar at the American University in Dubai and a Fellow at the Gulf Labor Markets and Migration programme of the Gulf Research Center, while also serving on the ILO Regional Office for Arab States' Migration Advisory Group and as Managing Director of Rights Corridor, a digital platform focused on Asia-Gulf migration. With over a decade of experience as a migration policy consultant, he has advised organizations including the ILO, IOM, World Bank, Abu Dhabi Dialogue, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, and Investment Migration Council. He is also a research collaborator on a British Academy project on migration think tanks and knowledge production in the Asia-Middle East migration corridor. Malit has authored more than 50 academic and public policy publications, with work appearing in leading peer-reviewed journals, and has presented his research at over 50 conferences and universities worldwide. He holds degrees from Cornell University, the University of Oxford, and the University of Cambridge, as well as a postgraduate migration certificate from the European University Institute, and has received the UBEL DTP-ESRC Studentship and a European Research Council award for his doctoral project.
Southeast Asia–Northeast Asia Migration
NOEL CHRISTIAN A. MORATILLA, PH.D.
Dean and Professor, Asian Center, UP Diliman
Dr. Noel Christian A. Moratilla is the Dean and a Professor at the Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman. He earned his Ph.D. in Philippine Studies in 2015, after completing an MA in Education from the same university. Before he was appointed Dean, he served as Deputy Director of the UP System Office of International Linkages. He is an advocate for the rights of Filipino migrant workers and promotes the alignment of internationalization initiatives with national priorities. Dr. Moratilla's academic interests lie in resistance literature, Marxist and postcolonial theory, testimonial narratives, and diaspora studies.
YUKINORI WATANABE
Sagami Women’s University
Yukinori Watanabe is a Professor at Sagami Women's University, Japan. His research interests include tourism communication, intercultural communication, linguistic ethnography, and English as a lingua franca.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS
This symposium is organized by the UP Asian Center, in collaboration with the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies – Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA-TUFS) and the Japan Foundation Manila.
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. 3587.