Ederlinda Fernandez

Ederlinda is a fully tenured professor at Western Mindanao State University. She teaches graduate courses in Public Administration and Development Theories and in particular encourages her students to focus on socially relevant issues. She is also the director of the university’s WRCC, where she researches and disseminates papers covering issues affecting women. The WRCC also maintains a specialised library which houses reference materials and teaching modules on gender and development. Apart from research and the maintenance of the library, Ederlinda (through the WRCC) conducts capability building, advocacy work and community extension programs. She is also a member of the Mindanao Working Group for Reproductive Health, Gender and Sexuality, where she strongly represents and advocates migration issues. Ederlinda is based in Zamboanga City, which is the receiving port of undocumented Filipinos forcibly repatriated from Malaysia, and is keenly aware of the plights of such workers overseas. This course, she hopes, will help her hone her skills, drawing the inspiration and experience from fellow human rights advocates in the ASEAN region. She was a previous participant of the Migrants Workers Program in 2004.