BAGUIO CITY – The Cordillera office of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) lined up various activities to celebrate Indigenous Peoples (IP) month this October.
Lawyer Ronald Calde, NCIP-CAR regional director, extended the invitation to the public to patronize the activities the agency prepared for the month-long celebration to appreciate the importance of contributing to efforts in preserving and protecting the rich culture and traditions of indigenous peoples of the Cordillera, a region dominated by indigenous peoples belonging to different tribes.
On October 8-31, 2016 at Vocas La Azotea, the public will be given a chance to appreciate the ingenuity of Cordillera artists through the PAMANA Art Exhibit followed by a series of free film showing at the Ili-likha along Assumption road on October22-26.
Giving importance to the efforts to preserve and protect the region’s environment, the more than 1,000 beneficiaries of the NCIP-CAR’s educational assistance program will actively participate in a massive tree planting activity in a site to be announced later.
Each participating scholars will be plant at least 10 tree seedlings and subsequently maintain them to help regreen the forests in the region and sustain the identity of the Cordillera as the watershed of Northern Luzon.
At the same time, the NCIP-CAR will be spearheading a series of fora on regional autonomy and federalism for the youth and students in the different colleges and universities regionwide from October 1-31, 2016, while a separate forum on the same for elders will be held on October 28-29, 2016 in a venue that will be announced later.
According to the NCIP-CAR official, there will be a book-launching on October 30, 2016 in a venue to be ascertained.
The Igorota Foundation will be hosting the event ‘The Cordillera Perspective on Development and Violence Against Women and Children’ on October 28-29, 2016.
The month-long event will be capped by the Gong Festival and Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) Day on October 30, 2016 at the Baguio Convention Center. Participants from the different tribes in the region will converge in a showcase of culture and traditions.
Calde said the Gong Festival will serve as a venue for both the elders and the youth to interact in showcasing their respective culture and traditions, as well as allow the youth to enhance their skills and knowledge on how to value the traditions that were passed on to them by their ancestors.
Calde invited the public to participate in the various activities to learn the rich culture and traditions of Cordillerans which were preserved and protected by the elders and passed on to the younger generations.
By Dexter A. See
