Dr Primitivo Ragandang1
1Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan City, The Philippines
Biography:
Prime Ragandang currently serves as the Director of the Office of Research Dissemination at MSU-IIT. He holds a PhD in International Relations from The Australian National University and a doctorate in Sustainable Development Studies from MSU-IIT. He writes on peacebuilding, youth, and memory. His papers are published in Conflict Studies Quarterly, Peacebuilding journal, Journal of Peacebuilding and Development, Peace Review, and Conflict, Security, and Development journal, among others. In 2021, he co-edited a book on youth, peacebuilding, and sustainability, published through the Young Southeast Asia Leaders Program of the United States Mission to ASEAN.
He is the founder of BHOLI Youth Centre, a youth-led organisation that provides after-school programs to students from Pre-K to 12th grade in Northern Mindanao, Philippines. He is the 2022 Student Volunteer of the Year of the Australian National University. Before joining the academe, he was the Philippines Director for Move This World, a global organisation that advocates for bullying prevention through social emotional learning.
Abstract:
This paper examines how memory can serve as a tool for everyday peace, focusing specifically on the localised stories of peace and resilience from Mindanao, Philippines. Grounded in local history and community experiences, these narratives illuminate pathways of resilience that speak directly to Mindanao’s unique social fabric and historical context. By teaching and integrating these stories into community and educational frameworks, this approach emphasizes an "everyday peace" lens that supports a grassroots understanding of peacebuilding. Such memory-driven storytelling encourages communities to draw upon shared history, transforming past experiences into a foundation for everyday resilience. This perspective not only supports Mindanao’s journey toward peace but also contributes to a broader understanding of how localised memory and storytelling can serve as sustainable tools in building resilience. This paper aims to showcase the potential of memory in cultivating everyday peace and offers a model for other regions facing similar crises.