SEAΔ is a program co-created by Mekong Cultural Hub and British Council which creates space for cultural practitioners to reflect on how their work in arts and culture can contribute to sustainable development within South East Asia through their individual and collective leadership.
Each year we will select 10 Fellows from 10 countries: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
The program has 4 main gatherings spread over a one-year period where Fellows get together. Each gathering takes place in a different country and has a unique purpose: exchange, create, share then reflect.
Raz represents the Philippines. He is a multi-disciplinary artist whose creative bases are on the islands of Panay and Negros. His creative endeavours reflect the convergence of the three pillars he primarily works on: Spiritual Vitality, Creative Healing, and Sacred Ecology.
He is a proactive environmental activist and community arts organizer. Ra’z is the founder of Gugma Gaia, a non-profit organization focusing on environmental conservation – utilizing the power of the arts for creative campaigns. For three consecutive years, he was the Festival Director for the 6200 Pop-Up Arts and Craft Fair – celebrating the creative local artistry of the province of Negros Oriental as organized by the Department of Trade and Industry.
As a Creative Activist, he has worked with different environmental and community development organizations including SPARK! (Samahan ng mga Pilipina para sa Reporma at Kaunlaran), Greenpeace – Solar Generation, OCEANA, Rare, and the U.S. Peace Corps (volunteer organization). He was also a representative in two UN Climate Change Conferences – in Montreal, Canada and Bali, Indonesia. He has led the crowdfunding of an on-going development of a creative and healing arts centre known as Malkootha Sanctuary.
Ra’z completed a degree in Communication and Environmental Journalism at Silliman University in Dumaguete City, Philippines. He presented a TEDx Talk on “Artivism: Effecting Environmental Consciousness through Art.”
ra'z salvarita 