The past year brought challenges to us individually and as a community. The ambiguity brought about by the crisis made it difficult for us to fulfill our objectives as an organization, as members of the academe, researchers, and community workers. The Philippine Sociological Society was held back by the circumstances we were in; a health crisis, a questionable government response, and our work’s uncertainty. However, given a chance, just like anyone else, we knew that we could succeed, flourish.

Last year, we took that chance during the 2020 Philippine Sociological Society National Conference, and we saw one of the biggest virtual gatherings of sociologists, social scientists, and students of social science. At more than 700 registrants, we were able to reach more than what we would usually have in a face-to-face conference. It was both a good feat and a sad reality: we were able to continue our mission to connect practitioners of Sociology but failed to take advantage of the dynamics, and social network face-to-face encounters provide.

This year, with the 2020 National Conference’s experience, we are moving with these in mind: connect, reach out, establish platforms, and create opportunities.

The Philippine Sociological Society would like to take advantage of the connections established with various departments of higher educational institutions offering Sociology programs, establish more, and be active partners in the improvement of teaching Sociology in the Philippines. We want to reach out to more young members of the community, from undergraduate and senior high school students through our continuous Socio-Caravan, to our teachers by providing support through our Socio-Sessions.

The Philippine Sociological Society would like to establish platforms for more engagement for our researchers, especially for our budding sociologists at the graduate level. We hope to establish networks among researchers in the field both locally and internationally by collaborating with institutions that can support our research endeavors and agenda. Expect that we will be more active both in research and international engagements.

By doing all these, and with the unwavering support of our membership, we hope to create opportunities to achieve the goals we have set and even go further.

We believe that what makes the Philippine Sociological Society an influential professional association is its inclusiveness. It is not restrictive. It is not afraid to connect. Moreover, as members, we call on you to reach out as well, engage. We will be waiting.

Louie Benedict R. Ignacio, PhD
President
Philippine Sociological Society