CMS - Philippines, Quezon

Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMS) - Philippines, Quezon

Find out about our international PACE partner Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA), which works to benefit migrant Filipino families.

The Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA) is an advocacy group in the Philippines that works to improve the economic, social and political conditions of migrant Filipino families through:

• policy advocacy
• information dissemination
• networking
• capability-building
• direct assistance

CMA gathers information, conducts studies, and analyses urgent issues on overseas migration and related concerns and disseminates these to its partners, networks, and constituents. Their vision is one of a society where justice, good governance, equal opportunity and gender equality prevails.

Previous activities

Law

Students researched and disseminated information regarding the ASEAN protection instrument for migrant workers and reviewed and edited a Magna Carta for migrant workers to ensure it accurately reflected and cited the constitution and also international conventions ratified by the Philippines.

Marketing/Media

Students assisted with the development of creative content for client orientation sessions and training based on interviews and existing materials. This included media content (mainly online videos, editing, filming etc.) for the centre's online resources relating to migrant rights, governance, women's rights, and the international & national legal frameworks supporting migrant labour force.

Social Science

Students conducted research into the implementation of new legislation and policies and evaluated how effective they have been in improving the legal and social conditions of migrants.

Student experiences

Ethan Hughes

Q: What do you study and where did you go on your PACE International activity?

A: I studied a Bachelor of Media, Majoring in Screen Practice and Production. For my PACE International activity, I was placed in Quezon City in the Philippines at the Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA)

Q: What was your role or project at your host organisation?

A: Myself and three other Macquarie University Students were responsible for interviewing overseas Filipino workers (OFW’s), Government migration agencies, Filipino political activists. We were tasked with creating videos to address the social costs of being a migrant worker, as well as the consequences of being a victim of illegal recruitment. These videos are now being used by CMA for promotional use online, publicly and in Seminar’s around the Philippines.

Q: What attracted you to the PACE International program?

A: After hearing about the PACE International experience through word of mouth and hearing first-hand accounts from ex-PACE students, my interest in the opportunity was fascinated. The idea of being able to experience a different culture for my degree sounded like a privilege and an opportunity to apply my skills acquired at Macquarie to a workplace environment overseas. It was also great knowing that many of the logistics of the trip were organised by PACE.

Q: What advice would you give a student who is thinking of applying for a PACE International activity?

A: Seize the day. You’ll never know what opportunities will arise or experiences will happen if you don’t take seize the day. You’ll make new friends, you’ll make new experiences and you’ll learn.

Q: What was the best part of your PACE International experience?

A: My most treasured experiences were the most eye-opening. Our host organisation took us around the Philippines to islands and regional areas to visit and hear the stories of migrant Filipino workers. Some of their experiences concluded with happy endings, some sad endings, others a mixture of the two. Upon returning to Australia, my awareness and outlook surrounding many socio-political had changed. Moreover, I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the Filipino foods, people and culture.