As part of the three-day Joint IDIL & IMLD 2025 Conference, Sorsogon State University (SorSU) held an exploratory meeting with the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) Global and the University of Oregon on potential collaboration and partnership in multilingual education, held on March 26, 2025, at the SorSU Boardroom, Sorsogon City Campus.
The meeting explored joint initiatives for the advancement and promotion of multilingual education, including international trainings for professors and educators on adaptation of MLE model, the exchange of expertise to reinforce multilingualism in education settings, international cooperation on future research undertakings to preserve Indigenous languages, and the development of instructional materials in multilingual media.
Present during the meeting were Dr. Thomas Payne (Certified Senior Linguistics Consultant, SIL Global & University of Oregon), Dr. Doris Payne (Certified Senior Linguistics Consultant, SIL Global University of Oregon), Dr. Karla Smith (SIL International), Dr. Jose Lalas (Professor, Literacy and Teacher Education – University of Redlands), and Mr. Antonio Igcalinos (President, 170+ Talaytayan, Inc.).
Meanwhile, SorSU officials included Dr. Ryan V. Dio (Vice President for Research, Extension and Training), Dr. Susan S. Janer (Dean, Graduate School), Dr. Ana Cristina G. Fortes (Director, Extension and Training Services), Dr. Vivien L. Chua (Director, International Relations Office), Prof. Teresa Haide R. Belgica (OIC Campus Director/Dean, College of Health and Science), Dr. Aldrin John J. Estonanto (IRO Coordinator, Sorsogon City Campus), Prof. Maricel A. Dichoso, and Prof. Fatima Arraya. (SorSU PIO)
Photo credit: SorSU IRO
