Preserving Our Indigenous Languages: Indigenous Peoples Join the Continuous Call to Document, Protect and Revitalize Their Languages

Ms. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Tebtebba executive director and former UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (first from the left), and Prof. Ricardo Ma. Duran Nolasco, founding chair of 170+ Talaytayan Multilingual Education Incorporated (first from the right), as they hand over certificates of appreciation to Dr. Gina O. Gonong, Undersecretary for Curriculum and Teaching (second from the left), and Mr. Ivan Anthony Henares of UNESCO.

“Ang usapin ng lenggwahe, partikular sa aming mga katutubo, ay isang napakahalagang aspeto. Ito ang nagbubuklod sa amin upang maipagpatuloy namin ang aming pamumuhay sa loob ng aming komunidad. Naisasaayos namin ang mga sigalot gamit ang sarili naming lenggwahe (The discussion about language, specifically for us as Indigenous peoples, is highly essential. Our indigenous language unites us, allowing us to continue our way of life. It enables us to fix different issues and conflicts within our community).”

Johnmart Salunday, Indigenous Peoples’ Mandatory Representative (IPMR) of Puerto Princesa, Palawan in the Philippines and President of Nagkakaisang mga Tribu ng Palawan (NATRIPAL), shared on the importance of their indigenous language during the 2023 Conference-Workshop on Indigenous Languages and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the University of the Philippines (UP) Visayas in Iloilo City, Philippines on 21 to 23 February 2023 that was attended by over 300 participants including representatives from indigenous peoples’ organizations, political structures and communities, civil society organizations, the academe, and other relevant actors and stakeholders.

The three-day event was co-organized by UP Visayas, Tebtebba, Talaytayan Multilingual Education Inc, ABC+ Advancing Basic Education in the Philippines, Philippine Normal University, and Lyceum of the Philippines University with support from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International. The said gathering was an offshoot of the first one, entitled 2022 Philippine Conference on Indigenous Languages: A Response to the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, that was held at UP Diliman in Quezon City, also in the Philippines, on 25 to 27 October 2022.

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