3 minute read
Mikko Vitug
Frans Regala
WRITTEN BY ANICIA GUNLAO
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FRANCESCA REGALA, most commonly known as “Frans” by her peers, is a fourth year European Studies student specializing in International Relations and running for magna cum laude.
Her interest in migration began with her two grandmothers: Her paternal grandmother was an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) in Greece, while her maternal grandmother was part of a Spanish community.
FINDING THE SPARK
In her freshman year of college, Frans presented a paper titled HANAPBUHAY: Respect, Status, and Domestic Work in Italy. She wanted to learn how human dignity can be addressed especially in Italy. “It’s something that I love to do, [and] it’s something that deserves more research and genuinely my area of expertise.”
Frans described the paper coming together as very serendipitous. She had a mentor back then that told her about the congress, but she didn’t have a topic in mind and found it too expensive. Then, one day, a friend invited her to an event in the University of the Philippines Diliman entitled, Filipinos in the eyes of an Italian. During the talk, she was inspired to explore how human migration relates to human mobility. The paper placed first at the 2019 UNIV Congress in Rome. She described the feeling as “unreal,” despite the complicated process of getting there. She was struggling to survive her first year because had difficult subjects and at the same time she was fundraising for her flight to Rome.
Frans wrote to everyone she knew, worked parttime, and sold paintings. Looking back at it now she reflects, “I really don’t know how I would have pulled it off without the support of everyone.”
A SEMESTER IN LATVIA
Right before the pandemic happened, Frans was offered a Erasmus Mundus scholarship grant to Latvia.
Despite spending most of her time in online class, she still learned many valuable lessons such as how to budget her money and take responsibility for herself. She pulled this off only in her sophomore year.
Frans shares that she was proudest to represent the country better in student experiences. Europe held the misconception that Filipinos are maids or wives of foreigners, but Frans strived to prove otherwise. “Being able to nuance that for the country keeps me going,” she shares.
WORK IN MIGRATION
For Frans, studying migration and being open to learning about others’ experiences allowed her to understand more about who she is amid the varying truths of society.
Previously, she was the Global Compact for Migration (GCM) Leader for the Philippines, where she wrote national youth reports. She interviewed third culture and OFWs’ kids to ask if they felt that the GCM goals were being met in the Philippines. This was to ensure that kids were coping well with the movement or their migration. Based on these interviews, Frans would write recommendations in her reports. Frans wrote more about GCM for Migration News, where she produced reports that discussed how countries around the world could improve their national systems to ensure people are safe when moving from border to border.
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
Currently, Frans holds a permanent post in the Major Group for Children and Youth, where her role is to help the United Nations in understanding issues affecting children.
She is also working on a project with the United Nations Children’s Fund’s regional plan of action on how to make the Association of Southeast Asian Nations mechanisms morechild friendly. She plans to hold consultations with different organizations and trade unions on how to implement it at a grassroots level.
Before taking a master’s in Migration studies, Frans is planning to have a gap year to learn French. Aside from that, she wants to study au pairs in Europe and how populism interacts with migration. One day, she hopes to integrate the voices of young people into the migration policies in the Philippines through a youth forum.
