The Immersive Science Communication Open Laboratory (ISCOLab) Project Team, one of the flagship projects of UPOU’s Immersive Open Pedagogies (IOP) Collective Mentorship Program, will lead the Metaverse Workshop at the 2nd Meiji × UP Arts-Based Research (ABR) Forum 2026.
The 2nd Meiji × UP Arts-Based Research (ABR) Forum 2026, hosted by the College of Communication, Art, and Design (CCAD) of the University of the Philippines Cebu (UP Cebu), will bring together collaborators from Meiji University, UP Cebu, the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU), and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa on November 3–5, 2026, under the theme “Reimagining Downtown Cebu: Arts-Based Research in the Metaverse.”
The forum brings together students, faculty members, artists, and researchers from the Philippines and Japan to explore how arts-based research, intercultural collaboration, and immersive technologies can contribute to envisioning more livable, sustainable, and climate-resilient cities.
This year’s forum will encourage participants to reflect on the challenges facing urban communities, particularly the impacts of climate change, flooding, extreme heat, and rapid urbanization.
From Urban Exploration to Creative Expression
A key component of the forum is an urban exploration of downtown Cebu, where participants will observe the city’s built environment, public spaces, cultural heritage, and everyday urban experiences.
Through intercultural exchanges, Filipino and Japanese participants will compare how their respective cities address urban sustainability, climate adaptation, accessibility, and quality of life.
These observations will serve as the foundation for an arts-based research activity in which participants imagine how downtown Cebu could be redesigned to become more inclusive, environmentally sustainable, and resilient to climate-related challenges.
Bringing Arts-Based Research into the Metaverse
As part of the forum, participants will explore the use of the metaverse as a collaborative space for artistic expression and urban reimagination.
Using FrameVR, an accessible, browser-based virtual environment with drag-and-drop features, participants will collaboratively create a virtual exhibition presenting their visions for the future of downtown Cebu.
Their creative outputs may include three-dimensional installations, digital artworks, photographs, multimedia narratives, and imagined urban spaces that communicate their ideas for a more sustainable city.
Rather than simply reproducing the physical city in a virtual environment, the activity encourages participants to use artistic expression to question existing urban conditions and propose alternative futures.
Advancing Immersive Open Pedagogies
The metaverse workshop is a major initiative of UPOU’s Immersive Open Pedagogies (IOP) Program, which explores how immersive technologies and collaborative digital environments can expand opportunities for teaching, learning, research, and creative practice.
Through the integration of arts-based research and the metaverse, the forum demonstrates how immersive environments can support interdisciplinary inquiry, intercultural dialogue, and participatory approaches to sustainability communication.
It also highlights how accessible technologies can enable students from different institutions and cultural backgrounds to collaboratively envision solutions to complex societal challenges.
The 2nd Meiji × UP ABR Forum 2026 is organized through the collaboration of Meiji University’s Institute for Global Diversity, Education, and Research; UPOU’s Immersive Open Pedagogies Collective Mentorship Program and ISCOLab Project at the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies; and UP Cebu’s College of Communication, Art, and Design, including its Research, Creative Work, and Publication Unit.
Through this collaboration, the participating institutions aim to demonstrate how art, technology, and intercultural learning can come together to imagine more livable, sustainable, and climate-resilient urban futures.
