Oscar M. Lopez Center’s Project SIGND (Climate Resilience of the Deaf: Signs for Inclusive Governance and Development) was recognized as the Outstanding CSR Project in Disaster Resilience at the 2025 CSR Guild Awards held at Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City, on July 1, 2025. 
The award, presented by the League of Corporate Foundations (LCF), honors initiatives that demonstrate impact and innovation in the area of disaster preparedness and response. Project SIGND stood out for its pioneering work to make climate and disaster resilience more accessible to the Deaf community in the Philippines.
Receiving the award on behalf of the project team were OML Center executive director Dr. Rodel Lasco, programs director Manna VargasMorada and former Project SIGND lead for adaptation Perpi Tiongson.
“We want to move beyond awareness. We want to build capacity and resilience. Through Project SIGND, the Deaf are empowered to not only understand climate and disaster risks, but to act, to participate and to lead. That’s real resilience,” said Lasco.
Importance of inclusivity’
“Through Project SIGND, we’re working to make sure no one is left behind in climate adaptation and disaster preparedness. This recognition from LCF reinforces the importance of inclusivity in building resilient communities,” he added.
Project SIGND seeks to increase the preparedness and adaptive capacities of the Deaf to climate-related risks and disasters. It was made possible by funding from a foreign donor through the management of the Gerry Roxas Foundation and in partnership with Philippine Federation of the Deaf, Parabukas Pte. Ltd., Filipino Sign Language National Network, Deaf Disaster Assistance Team-Disaster Risk Reduction, Dumaguete Effata Association of the Deaf Inc. and Deaf Accessibility Network of the Philippines.
Among the goals of Project SIGND is to create a lexicon of Filipino Sign Language (FSL) tailored to convey crucial information about climate change and disaster preparedness.
More than 6,000 signs
Since the project’s start in September 2022, over 6,000 signs have already been collected and processed by the Project SIGND team. From these signs, materials production, networking, channel development and dissemination of materials, including development of new signs for climate concepts where none exists, will be developed.
The Project SIGND team has also produced five policy briefs tackling critical policy gaps and opportunities related to Deaf inclusion in climate action.
These briefs explore the current policy landscape on data collection for persons with disabilities in the Philippines and its importance for climate governance; the state of Deaf education in the country and the barriers to inclusive education systems; the intersectionality of gender, disability and climate with a focus on the rights and vulnerabilities of deaf and Deaf women; the representation of persons with disabilities in international climate negotiations based on insights from COP28; and a climate vulnerability assessment on the Filipino Deaf community highlighting accessibility gaps and risks related to education, health and livelihood under a changing climate.
Driving positive change
The 2025 CSR Guild Awards is part of the annual LCF Conference and CSR Expo, which brings together organizations and changemakers who are driving positive change in the country.
This year, the gathering focused on the theme “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity for Shared Prosperity,” calling participating organizations to showcase their DEI initiatives that help communities adapt to the adverse effects of climate change and other global challenges.
More information about Project SIGND and its policy briefs on the website of the OML Center: https://www.omlopezcenter.org/ our-work/project-signd/.
Story by: Mae Anne Mangubos
