The team behind Project DANAS: Earthquake, Tsunami, and Volcano Disaster Narratives for an Experiential Knowledge-based Science Communication celebrates with guests the success of the project during its closing program on 25 February 2025.
Ending the music on a high note. This is what the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (DOST-PHIVOLCS) did as it wrapped up its two-year project documenting eyewitness accounts of significant earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions using local languages in the Philippines.
Called Project DANAS: Earthquake, Tsunami, and Volcano Disaster Narratives for an Experiential Knowledge-based Science Communication,” the initiative started in March 2023 to contribute to a locally contextualized and culturally sensitive science and risk communication.
It further highlighted the importance of science communication in terms of the usage of local languages in communicating scientific and hazard information for disaster risk reduction (DRR).
Eyewitness accounts from select localities in the Philippines were documented on their experiences and exposure to various hazards in their own languages.
After these were documented and transcribed, methods conducted for data analysis included survey on the use of local languages by select local disaster risk reduction management offices, focus group discussions with local stakeholders such as local government units (LGUs), Department of Education (DepEd), and barangay officials, round table discussions with language experts and DANAS component leaders, and literature review.
From there, the sourcebooks were drafted, revised, and laid out to ensure accuracy based on the local languages.
In her presentation of the accomplishments of the project, DOST-PHIVOLCS Deputy Director and DANAS Project Leader Dr. Ma. Mylene M. Villegas shared that instead of the initially planned one big volume, the project was able to launch a total of 12 sourcebooks.
These were the six Earthquake Sourcebooks with video packages in Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Tagalog, Ilokano, Bikolano, and Kapampangan; and six Volcano Sourcebooks featuring Hibok-hibok Volcano, Kanlaon Volcano, Taal Volcano, Pinatubo Volcano, Mayon Volcano, and Bulusan Volcano.
DOST-PHIVOLCS Deputy Director and DANAS Project Leader Dr. Ma. Mylene M. Villegas presents the accomplishment of the Project DANAS during its closing program on 25 February 2025 at the DOST-PHIVOLCS Auditorium in Quezon City.
In his message, DOST-PHIVOLCS Director Teresito C. Bacolcol thanked the partners for the successful conduct of the project.
“Thanks to the collaboration between DOST-PHIVOLCS, the University of the Philippines Visayas, and Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University, we have worked toward a more culturally inclusive approach to disaster risk reduction, especially when it comes to volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis. This project has given us the chance to not only document but truly understand the real-life experiences of communities impacted by these natural hazards,” he said.
He also thanked the eyewitnesses who shared their personal stories; translation consultants “whose expertise made sure the diversity of languages and cultural nuances in our communities were captured accurately in the materials developed”; local stakeholders such as the LGUs, DepED Division Offices, state colleges, local media; as well as the Office of Civil Defense Regional Offices, DOST Regional Offices, Provincial Science and Technology Offices, consultants from the University of the Philippines Diliman and Los Baños, Sorsogon State University, other experts, and the PHIVOLCS personnel.
DOST-PHIVOLCS Director Teresito C. Bacolcol says he look forward to the continued impact of the Project DANAS during its closing program on 25 February 2025.
These sourcebooks will serve as valuable resources for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) officers, educators, and local media, helping them deliver disaster messages that are both scientifically accurate and culturally sensitive to shape public communication and capacity-building efforts. They will also form part of the communication kit as part of the capacity-building of the DOST-PHIVOLCS.
Recommendations will also be drafted for the use of the sourcebooks for DepEd and for the enhancement and addition to the DOST’s Science Communication Agenda.
The Project DANAS is a collaborative initiative by the DOST-PHIVOLCS in partnership with Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University-South La Union and the University of the Philippines Visayas in Iloilo City and is funded by the DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development. (By Rosemarie C. Señora, DOST-STII and photos courtesy of Project DANAS, DOST-PHIVOLCS)
