In celebration of its 10th year anniversary, the Center for Conservation of Cultural Property and Environment in the Tropics (CCCPET) of the University of Santo Tomas Graduate School (USTGS) will hold the first ever Conference on Cultural Heritage Mapping on Sept. 23-24, at UST’s Thomas Aquinas Research Complex (TARC) Auditorium, España, Manila.
This gathering of cultural-heritage mappers, cultural workers, students and people from the academe aims to review mapping practices and how this technique substantially contributed to community development, especially now that there is a growing interest among local government units (LGUs) to fuse heritage with development.
The speakers include Mayor Eva Marie S. Medina of the Heritage City of Vigan, Ilocos Sur, which last year won the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) Best Cultural Conservation Practices award, and Fernando N. Zialcita of the Ateneo de Manila Cultural Mapping Laboratory.
Other speakers: Ricamela Palis and Roland Peter J. Nicart of Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Calamba, Laguna (Cultural Mapping in the NCCA, Graduate Diploma in Cultural Education); Dindo Asuncion, provincial tourism and information officer of the province of Marinduque (Cultural Mapping of Boac); Leo Batoon, senior museum researcher of the National Museum’s Archaeological Sites and Branch Museums Division (Cultural Mapping of Butuan City, Agusan del Norte); Harley Rose A. Daquioag, board director/community relations specialist of the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority in Casiguran (Cultural Mapping of Casiguran and Baler, Aurora); former Mayor Annaliza Kwan of Guiuan, Eastern Samar (Cultural Mapping of Guiuan, Eastern Samar);
Ricardo L. Favis, culture program officer of Unesco Bangkok (Safeguarding the Intangible Aspects of Our Cultural Heritage); Lutgardo Labad, consultant for provincial tourism in Bohol (Cultural Mapping Project of Bohol Province); Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte (Cultural Mapping Project of Quezon City); Al Modesto Valenciano, director of Gameng Foundation, Inc. in Ilocos Norte (Cultural Mapping of Ilocos Norte); and Ryan N. Sebastian of the Department of Tourism’s Office of Tourism Standards and Regulations (The Role of Cultural Mapping in Developing the Filipino Brand of Service Program of the Department of Tourism).
Culminating the event is “The Big Binondo Food Wok,” with famed tourist guide Ivan Man Dy. It is a three-hour culinary tour of Chinatown which will include Plaza Calderon de la Barca, Basilica de San Lorenzo Ruiz, Ongpin Street, Carvajal Alley Market, and other traditional shops and restaurants.
Participants will receive conference kits and certificates of attendance and appreciation.
For information on registration and other queries, contact CCCPET at tel. +632-4061611 local 4059, 7861736 local 8536, mobile 0917-5955100, or e-mail at cccpet@mnl.ust.edu.ph or ust_cccpet@yahoo.com.