Ivanka is an activist from Manila, Philippines, with a passion for queer feminist world-building. The past decade of their life has been devoted to working on a range of human rights issues such as LGBTQIA+ rights, enforced disappearances and refugee protection. Their main contributions have been in the areas of cross-movement solidarity and ‘queering’ movement practices and structures. Ivanka is studying MA in Critical Gender Studies.
What is your goal in life?
To become a feminist scholar-activist whose work contributes to forging a just and nurturing world for the most marginalized and dispossessed communities. In particular, I would like to be able to lend my skills and knowledge to support emerging queer and trans movements.
Why did you choose your course of study?
My program’s interdisciplinary approach to contemporary gender issues allows me to further strengthen my intersectional feminist praxis. This is precisely the kind of education that would better equip me to respond to the complex, structural challenges that besiege LGBTQIA+ people in the Philippines and across the Global South.
What do you hope to gain from your time at CEU?
I am very excited about the opportunity to learn from CEU’s rich and diverse set of students and faculty, and to enjoy student life in Vienna.