PLMayer chosen as PH delegate to Harvard’s HPAIR 2025

Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) Communication student Maria Czietherine Paghunasan has been selected as one of the Philippine delegates to the Harvard College Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR) 2025.

The prestigious program, hosted annually by Harvard College, brings together emerging leaders from different sectors to exchange ideas on the most pressing challenges of today. Out of thousands of applicants worldwide, only a little over 300 participants from more than 60 countries were chosen to take part in this year’s three-day virtual summit, scheduled on August 22 to 24, 2025.

Delegates will engage directly with Nobel Laureates, innovators, and distinguished scholars in masterclasses, policy discussions, and innovation forums. The summit also features networking sessions and HPAIRx presentations, where selected delegates pitch ideas and projects shaping the future of politics, business, technology, and culture.

Paghunasan’s inclusion recognizes her track record as a Communication student, leader, and artist who has long championed the rights of women, the LGBTQIA+ community, and the youth.

This marks her second time to represent PLM at HPAIR, having first joined the conference in 2023.

“This is for every scholar from underprivileged backgrounds who was told to dream small, but refused to settle,” she expressed.

Beyond HPAIR, Paghunasan has also earned recognition for her social commentaries in visual art, notably in Rappler’s Pitik Bulag Editorial Cartoons of the Week.