MANILA — About 40 employees of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) offices nationwide have gathered in Iloilo for a five-day training on Community-Based Program for the Indigenous Peoples (IP) and Cultural Communities.
The training, which began Monday and will run until March 23, aims to strengthen the government’s programs on protecting and conserving the culture of the IPs and helping them to improve their lives, too.
Attendees are expected to experience cultural tour guiding in the School of Living Traditions (SLT) and profiling of IP communities.
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) described the SLT as “one where a living master/culture bearer or culture specialist teaches skills and techniques of doing a traditional art or craft”.
TESDA said the training is based on the IP’s needs and the available resources in their communities.
It added that the activity also aims to help the agency improve the delivery and efficiency of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) programs and technology-based community training programs.
The agency also plans to create sustainable economic development programs fit for the IP through this training.
“We also plan to teach the youth about the 37 ethnic arts and culture that are likely to become extinct. These art forms include beads-making, embroidery, weaving, healing, performing arts, among others,” TESDA said in a statement.
During the training, TESDA will also discuss curriculum development, learning modules, assessment tool, and trainer/learner guides needed for training programs supporting the IP communities. (PNA)
