Pamela Gloria Cajilig

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Philippines

Pamela Gloria Cajilig

Pamela is an anthropologist passionate about bringing participatory and design-based approaches to disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) & climate change adaptation (CCA). Pamela is the co-founder of Curiosity Design Research, which has delivered over 300 research and consulting projects for public and private organizations in the Philippines and for clients across four continents. She is also a professorial lecturer at the College of Architecture at the University of the Philippines College of Architecture where she is initiating multisectoral and cross-disciplinary initiatives in disaster resilience. At the core of Pamela’s work is a participatory approach that includes voices frequently overlooked or silenced. With many DRRM & CCA initiatives excluding valuable local knowledge, Pamela first realised how crucial local participation was while working with village health workers during the recovery efforts after Typhoon Yolanda hit. Their social networks and intimate knowledge supported the creation of a gender-responsive evacuation centre that truly met the needs of the community in subsequent typhoons, including that of mothers who take on care work. Pamela strives to enhance the EI fellowship’s efforts towards reducing health inequalities in a thoughtful, collaborative way highlighting the knowledge, capacities, and experiences of those most vulnerable to climate disasters.