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PULSO: A Symposium on Data and Youth Engagement

“PULSO”
A Symposium on Data and Youth Engagement

November 19, 2025 • 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM • San Beda University Manila
638 Mendiola St., San Miguel, Manila

Registration link: https://bit.ly/PULSOsymposium

The Program on Social and Political Change (PSPC), in partnership with the Philippine Political Science Association (PPSA) and San Beda University, is organizing “PULSO: A Symposium on Data, Democracy, and Youth Engagement.” The event is on November 19, 2025 at the Jonathan Sy Auditorium, San Beda University Manila.

“PULSO” is conceived to be a multidisciplinary and sectoral event to discuss the intersection of data-driven academic research and on-the-ground, youth-led civic engagement. The rationale is that while empirical data is crucial for understanding complex socio-political challenges like democratic recession and accountability, the energy and creative communication styles of the youth are essential for translating that understanding into public awareness and action.

The event aims to showcase empirical research on Philippine governance, particularly using PSPC’s Philippine Local Government Interactive Dataset, while also introducing methodologies such as Natural Language Processing for analyzing political discourse. The event also supports youth voices by featuring student-produced vlogs that translate complex political concepts for the public. Through these presentations, the symposium intends to foster dialogue that may inspire a new generation who will advocate for data-driven and inclusive policymaking. And in celebration of the National Students’ Day, this symposium aims to connect data-driven scholarship with the vibrant, creative pulse of the Filipino youth. It seeks to demonstrate that these two forces are not separate but are complementary and essential for strengthening democratic participation.

The program will have four complementary parts. It will begin with presentations by scholars on local governance using PSPC’s datasets, followed by a presentation from Dr. Ronald A. Pernia on using computational social science to identify key political concepts. The program will then pivot to showcase youth creativity, featuring winners from the “Puliticlass: Politics in a Byte” video contest, where students explain their understanding of political concepts and themes. The event will culminate in a short forum answering the question, “In this period of information abundance and digital connectivity, are the youth truly active democratic participants?”. Dr. Bishnu Raj Upreti from the Nepal Center for Contemporary Research (NCCR) will talk about the Gen-Z uprising in Nepal, together with advocates from media, youth, and the academe who will explore the Philippine context.

Ultimately, the symposium will demonstrate how empirical research and youth engagement is powerful and helpful in understanding the current socio-political issues in the country. It is expected to be a celebration for new ideas, to showcase youth communication strategies, and to catalyze a public conversation of our current realities. We hope that the participants are able to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges facing Philippine democracy and be inspired by the tangible ways data and youth-led creativity can work together to forge a more informed and engaged citizenry.

All students and youth leaders, academics, researchers, policy analysts, media practitioners, government and NGO representatives, and the general public are invited to participate in this event. Please register at https://bit.ly/PULSOsymposium.

Organizers

This event is spearheaded by the Program on Social and Political Change (PSPC), a multidisciplinary research program under the Center for Integrative and Development Studies (CIDS) focused on the socio-political challenges facing modern Philippines. In full collaboration and partnership with the Philippine Political Science Association (PPSA), the country’s premier organization for political science scholarship, and San Beda University Manila, a historic private Catholic institution run by the Order of Saint Benedict since its founding in 1901, esteemed for its commitment to academic excellence and civic engagement. And The REPVBLIC, the professional organization of the Department of Political Science in San Beda University.