PARIS—The 16th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) cited the Philippines on December 16 by inscribing the School of Living Traditions (SLT) in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Register of Good Safeguarding Practices.
SLT is a flagship program of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) dedicated to safeguard and support the continued practice and passing on to the younger members of the community the indigenous and folk traditions, skills and knowledge of cultural-heritage elements that are manifestations and expressions of the creativity and ingenuity of Philippine cultural communities. It harnesses the latter’s own “cultural masters” to teach and guide its young members using their own approaches.
There are a total of 28 SLTs being implemented across the Philippines; in Luzon: Benguet, Ifugao, Abra, Mountain Province, Kalinga, Bulacan, Nueva Vizcaya, Quezon, Palawan, and Rizal; in the Visayas: Aklan, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Bohol, Capiz, Antique, and Guimaras; and in Mindanao: Agusan del Sur, South Cotabato, Davao Occidental, Basilan, Davao City, Davao del Norte, Bukidnon, Zamboanga del Sur, Davao Oriental, Davao del Sur, and North Cotabato.
Head of Delegation Junever M. Mahilum-West, who is the Philippine ambassador and permanent delegate to UNESCO, thanked members of the ICH Committee, as well as the evaluation body, as she welcomed the recognition during the session: “SLT ensures that indigenous knowledge, practices and living traditions continue to be safeguarded and revitalized by [enabling] apprenticeship of the younger generation.”
Through Deputy Executive Director Marichu Tellano, NCCA Chairperson Arsenio J. Lizaso also extended his gratitude for the SLT’s inscription: “This honor is a profound recognition of our cultural communities’ [sharing with all their counterparts] in the world.”
SLT is the Philippines’s fifth element to be inscribed in the Lists of ICH, with others namely: the Hudhud chants of the Ifugao, the Darangen epic of the Manarano people of Lake Lanao, the Tugging rituals and games, and the Buklog thanksgiving ritual system of the Subanen.