Activities lined up for National Heritage Month
The National Heritage Month of May is filled with lively activities, including seminars, workshops, summit conferences, training programs, and performances from Manila to Marawi City. Festivities are organized by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
This was announced at a recent press conference at the Metropolitan Theater in Manila, presided over by a team of NCCA officials led by chair Victorino Mapa Manalo. The theme is “Preserving Legacies, Building Futures: Empowering Communities through Heritage.” One definition of heritage is that “it is a legacy of tangible objects and intangible attributes that shape a group’s identity and connection to the past.” These include artworks, books, buildings, customs, oral traditions, and social practices.
During the press launch, singer Esang de Torres was roundly applauded for her rendition of Gary Granada’s inspirational hit song “Tagumpay Nating Lahat.”
Things actually started in Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte—famous for being Rizal’s place of exile before his execution in Manila in 1898—with a two-day kickoff activity in partnership with the local government of Dapitan and the Jose Rizal Memorial State University. On May 7, seminar workshops were held in partnership with the National Library of the Philippines in Manila.
The workshops taught archival workers preservation skills, methods of conserving libraries, and new ways of digitizing cultural material.
Also on that day, the two-day Bicol Association of Museums Summit took place in Vinzons, Camarines Norte. “Museums in Bicol are brimming with culture,” said the NCCA’s Neil Martial Santillan during the press conference. “The summit is where they will grow even stronger.” Museum workers shared ideas, discussed changes in museums in Bicol, and strengthened the network of regional museums. The summit was convened by the National Committee on Museums in partnership with the Bicol Association of Museums.
Climate change, political conflict
On May 20, the scene shifts back to Manila and also to Tacloban City, Leyte. On that day, a three-day conference will be held at the University of Santo Tomas, in partnership with the Society of Ecclesiastical Archivists of the Philippines. Discussions are expected to lead to a deeper understanding among archivists of preserving heritage, especially religious documents and ecclesiastical archives, affected by climate change and political conflict.
In Tacloban, the Eastern Visayas State University will host a two-day workshop which will encourage research and documentation of historical connections of Eastern Visayas to the rest of the Visayas, and to Mindanao. The programs will provide platforms for emerging historians to share their work and ongoing studies about Eastern Visayas; the workshop is led by the National Committee on Historical Research.
The last week of May will be astir with activities. In Marawi on May 27 to May 30, the National Committee on Archives, in partnership with Mindanao State University, will conduct training on basic archives and digitization of records.
In Tacloban, on May 27 to May 28, the National Committee on Monuments and Sites will conduct training workshops that will help heritage workers improve their skills in preserving heritage. The National Committee on Art Galleries, in partnership with Estancia Mall, will conduct a workshop to help artists, galleries, and art collectors take care of their collections.
Finally, National Heritage Month will come to a close with two-day festivities in Sorsogon City on May 27 to 28. “This is a May filled with flagship programs directed at empowering heritage workers throughout the country,” Manalo said. “These initiatives aim to strengthen local heritage work, and equip cultural workers and institutions with the tools to preserve the nation’s rich cultural legacy.”
