THE website of The Cordillera Review (TCR), the official research journal of the University of the Philippines Baguio (UPB), was launched in a virtual program held online on May 17, 2021.
Published through the Cordillera Studies Center (CSC), the TCR is a multidisciplinary refereed journal dedicated to studies on Philippine culture and society, with emphasis on research pertaining to the Cordillera region and Northern Luzon, Philippines. Dubbed as Journal of Philippine Culture and Society, its first issue was released in March 2009 with Prof. Delfin Tolentino, Jr. as editor-in-chief.
With the newly-launched TCR website, the journal becomes an open-access electronic journal. According to CSC Director Dr. Ruth Tindaan, the launching is part of the reconfiguration of the TCR from print to an online-access journal which has been in the works within the center. This shift also transformed the publication into having an international editorial board. Pointing out the relevance of the project being timely, especially with the implications to access to research materials brought about by the pandemic, Tindaan also emphasized the importance of widely disseminating scholarly works published in the TCR.
In the launching program, UPB Chancellor Dr. Corazon Abansi acknowledged the efforts and resources invested since the previous administration which made the TCR shift possible. The chancellor also stressed the goal of the TCR website to provide support to the academic and research community and for positive experience for all readers of the journal. “This move also comes with the not insignificant benefit of reducing our environmental footprint,” Abansi added.
The website currently offers free download access to the past issues of the TCR as well as functions for free sharing on social media to foster what Abansi pointed out as an opportunity to “transform from mere consumption to engagement.” This resonates with what Tindaan mentioned as among the aims of the TCR online to encourage opportunities of interaction among researchers and scholars through the platform.
Published biannually, the TCR welcomes submissions of studies and papers that contribute to the discourses on indigenous societies and Philippine culture in general. Information including the submission guidelines are available on the website at thecordillerareview.upb.edu.ph. Print copies of the previous TCR issues are still available from the CSC and its official online spaces. – UP Baguio Public Affairs/JL Lazaga & RN Gueco
