In line with Presidential Proclamation No. 1906 celebrating October as the National Indigenous People’s Month, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) organizes a national forum called Kalkali. This forum intends to create discussions concerning the welfare of indigenous members in the community.
Kalkali is a term from the language of South Central Cordillera, also called “Kankana-ey,” which means conversation. The focus of the forum will be on the theme “Vital Wisdoms: Learning with the Indigenous Peoples.”
“Vital wisdoms” refer to Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) which pertains to a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill, as well as an artifact, instrument, or cultural space that is considered by UNESCO to be part of a place’s cultural heritage.
As part of the forum’s social-relational process, instead of the notion of “learning from,” it focuses on the theme of “learning with” in order to open a diverse conversation with different sectors of the society.
“The forum provides a platform for indigenous peoples to assert their rights to participate in discussions on the ways and means to safeguard their intangible cultural heritage which are increasingly being undermined by the rapid social, economic, political, and ecological changes on local, regional, and global scale.” said anthropologist and Kalkali forum director Dr. Eufracio Abaya.
The two-day forum will have eight sessions with speakers from the Indigenous Peoples’ (IP) communities together with representatives from different sectors of the government and the community. The forum aims to spark debate and a new perspective to the sectors involving IPs, as well as, create and inform future initiatives to safeguard ICH in the Philippines.
The registration is free but for limited slots only. Interested parties may sign up here.
Header photo courtesy of Inquirer.net
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