[av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”]
[av_heading heading=’Narrative that binds a people’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”][/av_heading]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=’custom’ color=’#0a0a0a’]
Monday, January 23, 2017
[/av_textblock]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=’custom’ color=’#0a0a0a’]
THIS YEAR’S Dinagyang festival tagline “See…Feel…Love” encapsulated the invitation to experience Iloilo through the city’s premier festival. Yes, Dinagyang may not be as ancient as the Ati-Atihan of Kalibo, Aklan but it is known more for the participants’ impressive choreography and striking costumes that reflect the ingenuity, culture, craftsmanship and artistry of the Ilonggos.
Our culture is our story as a nation. Why not take this to another level – integrate and mainstream Philippine arts and culture in our educational system? In the Senate, there’s a proposal to create a cultural education program that will integrate arts and culture in the curricula for basic and tertiary education and technical-vocational courses.
The government has already taken concrete steps to safeguard our intangible cultural heritage through the establishment of schools of living traditions (SLTs). The National Commission for Culture and the Arts instituted and managed the growth of SLTs to create and nurture the talents of culture specialists/masters and to preserve and transmit indigenous skills and techniques to the young. However, we need a major leap in making sure the country’s unique and diverse cultural heritage will flourish.
The country’s key education agencies — the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Technical Education and Skill Development Authority (TESDA) – can collaborate with NCCA in formulating and implementing programs that integrate and mainstream Philippine arts and culture in the national education system.
These may create a program that will develop and implement an enhanced Special Program for the Arts; mainstream indigenous knowledge systems, skills and practices; and support the K-12 program of DepEd, both in the formal and informal systems, particularly the subjects on heritage, culture and the arts through teacher training, resource materials and by formulating competencies for arts-related careers.
Our culture is the narrative that binds Filipinos regardless of ethnicity, social class, or educational background into a common chronicle of tradition, trials and triumph. It is our identity and, therefore, must be preserved and passed on to the next generation.
[/av_textblock]
[/av_one_full]
