BAGUIO CITY, Philippines - Twelve staff from the Finance Unit of Tebtebba including two staff from the Indigenous Peoples Rights International (IPRI) participated in a three-day training last March 7-9, 2020 at Maryknoll Ecological Sanctuary in Baguio City, Philippines.
The training aimed to enhance the knowledge and skills of the Finance Unit staff in training facilitation using gender- responsive and culturally-appropriate methodologies and approaches in delivering finance management training to indigenous peoples’ organizations and communities in the Philippines. Towards this, the Community Finance Management Training Guide for Facilitators is simulated for two days. The guide for facilitators is designed to help the staff in training officers and members of the indigenous peoples’ organizations with finance management functions to manage efficiently and effectively their financial resources.
Florence Daguitan, Programme Coordinator of the #IndigenousPeoples Biodiversity Programme of @ Tebtebba, emphasized that conducting training with indigenous learners must be conscious of and be able to adapt to their contexts and cultures. She also stressed that the principles of indigenous peoples sustainable self-determined development (IPSSDD) should not be separate to the principles of finance management.
“There is a need to simplify the finance management training guide so that it becomes easier and more practical for our indigenous communities and partners on the ground to understand,” she added.
After reviewing the facilitator’s guide, the staff simulated how to introduce the topic, the activities and inputs and how to wrap up or end the discussion. After each group simulated the modules assigned to them, a collective feedbacking followed.
“This kind of training would help us engage well with our indigenous peoples’ partners”, remarked Janice Guzman, an Ibaloi and one of the Finance Unit staff.
The Elatia Training Institute which organized the activity is established in 2018 to build the capacity of next generation of indigenous leaders and to serve as platform for knowledge sharing for them. It is presently coordinated by Maribeth Bugtong-Biano.
