Who is Kapwa Collective?
Kapwa Collective is a group of Filipinx-Canadian artists, critical thinkers, and healers who work towards bridging narratives between the Indigenous and the Diasporic, and the Filipinx + the Canadian. We facilitate links among academic, artistic, activist, and other communities in Toronto.
Kapwa Collective functions as a mutual support group based on the core value of kapwa. Virgilio G. Enriquez, known as the founder of Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino Psychology), initially proposed a concept of personhood centered on the core value expressed in the word kapwa, as described by author, Katrin de Guia:
"Kapwa is a Tagalog term widely used when addressing another with the intention of establishing a connection. It reflects a viewpoint that beholds the essential humanity recognizable in everyone, therefore linking (including) people rather than separating (excluding) them from each other. Enriquez felt that this orientation was an expression of humanness at its highest level." - from Kapwa: The Self in the Other, Worldviews and Lifestyles of Filipino Culture-Bearers
Kapwa Collective believes in creating relationships with Indigenous Peoples around the world, as we seek to understand our own identities as diasporic people and settlers on Turtle Island. We understand that incorporating Indigenous knowledge, systems, beliefs, and practices is important towards our survival as a species in this world that is in a deep ecological crisis.
The Kapwa logo is a centipede with its legs representing the many generations of our past and future ancestors.
*We use the term Filipinx to acknowledge the fluidity of gender identities in our communities.
